Park City Begins $7 Million Project to Underground Bonanza Park Power Lines

Kearns Boulevard will carry half its normal traffic capacity for much of the next six weeks when a $7 million transmission line undergrounding project launches Tuesday, April 7, reshaping the Bonanza Park corridor for months and setting up a decade-in-the-making affordable housing development.

The schedule front-loads the disruption. From April 7 through 12, westbound traffic is detoured while a single eastbound lane stays open. The pattern reverses April 13 through 17. From April 20 through May 15, the stretch between Park Avenue and Bonanza Drive runs one lane in each direction from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Repaving follows May 18 through 22. Work then shifts to Woodbine Way in July, substation operations through August and September, and Phase 1 cleanup in October.

Businesses in the corridor should plan for constrained delivery windows and reduced customer access during peak construction hours. The city has posted a project map and schedule and is asking motorists to use alternate routes where possible.

The $7 million contract, approved by the City Council on August 15, 2024, covers moving lines that run from the Rocky Mountain Power substation near Munchkin Road, across Kearns Boulevard, to the Park City Cemetery and Boot Hill. Rocky Mountain Power, a subsidiary of PacifiCorp, is the utility partner.

Those overhead lines have imposed a 60-foot easement restriction on surrounding parcels for years, a 30-foot buffer on each side that has blocked vertical construction on the adjacent 5-Acre Site. "There's at least a 30-foot buffer on either side of these transmission lines that would inhibit any vertical development and a lot of surface level development," City Manager Matt Dias told the council before the August 2024 vote. Burying the lines also frees up the Park City Cemetery, which is at capacity. Deputy City Manager Jen McGrath noted in early 2024 that relocating the lines "creates more than 40 burial plots at the cemetery, which is currently maxed out." Wildfire risk reduction from overhead high-voltage infrastructure adds a public safety rationale Rocky Mountain Power has been advancing across the broader Park City area.

The development stakes trace back nearly a decade. Park City paid $19 million for the 5-acre Bonanza Park parcel in 2017, envisioning an arts and culture district anchored by the Kimball Art Center and the Sundance Institute. Both tenants eventually withdrew; designs had already exceeded $100 million. After a 2024 public feedback process centered on affordability, the council adopted the Bonanza Park Small Area Plan in July 2024, establishing new mixed-use BPMX zoning.

In June 2025, Park City selected Illinois-based Brinshore Development, LLC as its redevelopment partner, paired with local firm GTS Development Services. Preliminary plans approved March 20 call for 10 buildings with 106 apartments targeting residents earning 40 to 80 percent of the Area Median Income. In Summit County, that equals roughly $47,200 to $94,400 per year for a single person. The $120 million project is expected to house between 144 and 198 local workers under a 60-year ground lease at $1 per year.

Groundbreaking on the 5-Acre Site is targeted for April or May 2027, but only once the lines are underground.