At the Mill Canyon site in Utah, you can enjoy more than two hundred single tracks from at least ten different types of dinosaurs. They include fossil footprints that have remained untouched for more than 112 million years, until some workers drove heavy construction equipment over them in January. The construction crew had to recreate a pedestrian walkway for nearby visitors. The State Land Management Agency, which ordered the construction project, has now published a report on the actual damage.
According to the inspection team, the “edges” of many of the prints were “irreparably damaged”. In addition, freezing weather in the future can cause cracks to swell. “One track was run over over and over,” paleontologist Brent Breithaupt wrote in the report. He adds that the areas involved have not been identified, but the construction crew was also not allowed to drive such heavy vehicles in the area at all.
The good news is that the damage was limited thanks to residents who sounded the alarm as soon as they saw the first tire tracks at the site. As a result, the construction project was immediately halted. Otherwise, the damage would be “much worse”.
The hiking trail replacement project has now been put on hold at least until summer. More investigations are underway to determine how to prevent further damage.
