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Get ready to shuffle lanes again in the Interstate-80 construction zone.
Every step in the project is a positive change now for motorists who drive the stretch of freeway. This weekend, the Utah Department of Transportation opens up more new pavement, and that means a safer ride.
Driving the reconstruction zone of I-80, you're not running the gauntlet anymore.
"It's closures like this that allow us to get things open early. We're actually going to be able to get this, three lanes both directions, one month earlier than we anticipated; so the project is moving really well," UDOT spokesman Nile Easton said.
Tomorrow, the UDOT crews will switch westbound traffic on I-80 from State Street to 700 East. Westbound traffic will move on to the newly-reconstructed westbound lanes. Eastbound traffic will not change.
After the switch, both directions will have three lanes open without the movable barrier.
"If you can, just avoid the area until afternoon. Then in the afternoon, you'll have more lanes than you have had the last year," Easton said.
Here are the morning lane restrictions:
- One lane westbound in the work zone from 6 a.m. to noon.
- The 700 East westbound off-ramp will close from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.
- Westbound I-80 traffic cannot access I-15 and SR-201 from around 9 a.m. to noon. You'll have to detour onto 2100 South at 700 East.
"Some bad news in the morning, but by afternoon, three lanes in both directions for the remainder of the project," Easton said.
In mid-December, eastbound traffic will also shift to new pavement; project completion will be one year away.
For more information on tomorrow's lane shift, CLICK HERE.
E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
E-mail: bbruce@ksl.com
