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PROVO -- A major milestone was reached today on the I-15 Core Project in Utah County: As of Friday the work is 50 percent finished. It's great news for those who drive on I-15 every day.
The sheer volume of dirt and cement that's been moved and put into place goes to show that the freeway is clearly taking shape. Crews have moved an estimated 5 million tons of dirt and laid down more than 1 million yards of concrete paving. That averages out to 60,000 - 80,000 yards of fresh concrete a week.
"To reconstruct a full interstate system in 35 months is an aggressive timeline and we're on pace to meet that aggressive timeline," said Dal Hawks, project manager for the I-15 Core Project.
"A normal person's driveway would only be eight to ten yards, so it's the equivalent of doing twenty to thirty thousand driveways every week. So it's a tremendous volume of work to accomplish in a short period of time." Hawks said.
The project is also giving Utah County and the state a huge economic boost. So far it is on budget and on schedule to be finished by the end of 2012.
"There's approximately 1600 people working on the project full time, it's a huge effort to deliver this on time and on budget," Hawks said.
Whether you look at it as the glass is half full or half empty, the construction work on I-15 in Utah County, the halfway mark is something to celebrate. While the project is halfway finished, UDOT believes drivers will enjoy the second half of the project, as they get to drive on more of the new freeway.
"One thing we are looking forward to is that by the end of this calendar year, all traffic is expected to be on new concrete paving, and so that will be a nice milestone for the public to watch for over the next few months," Hawks said.
Even at 50 percent done, there will still be a lot of closures and delays to deal with over the next 15 months. UDOT is already warning people about next Saturday night's Utah/BYU game in Provo, and advising fans to leave early - especially with the Provo Center street off ramp closed for the next couple of months.
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