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SALT LAKE CITY — Shovels may start moving on three projects in 2018, instead of 2020, if they are approved by the Utah Transportation Commission, which prioritizes projects and decides how funds are spent.
The Utah Department of Transportation would like to accelerate work on I-15 from Utah County to Davis County. One project is adding a southbound lane between state Route 201 at the Spaghetti Bowl down to 12600 South; another is extending the HOV/Express lane from Hillfield Road to I-84; and perhaps the most anticipated project will expand I-15 from Lehi Main Street to state Route 92.
“We call it the technology corridor, and that will be the last project on that whole Utah County I-15 piece that we have worked on for years now,” said Carlos Braceras, UDOT’s executive director.
Braceras said the Utah Transportation Commission will consider this in their April meeting, then take public comment through May.
“We’re using the public’s dollars and it’s important to us to get the public input,” he said. “Are we picking the right projects to go to construction right now?”
Other projects on the long-term list include the West Davis Highway, which is the biggest dollar value, and Bangerter Highway.
Braceras said UDOT has been working on the environmental aspects of the West Davis Highway for nine years and he expects to hear from the federal government this fall on whether that project can move to its next phase.
As for Bangerter, the plan is to eventually convert three more intersections into interchanges.
“We’ve got four under construction right now, and they are a good bang for the buck. So, converting those intersections with traffic signals into interchanges where Bangerter Highway is not stopped at all,” Braceras said.
