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SALT LAKE CITY -- Drivers who are lucky enough to avoid road delays leaving town for Memorial Day are likely to see more of them after the holiday due to construction.
UDOT will start closures and lane restrictions in three new areas beginning June 1.
"We really wanted to wait until after that first weekend when people go on their recreation activities," spokesman Adan Carrillo told KSL Thursday. "After that, people will start seeing some major delays."
The I-15 Core project in Utah County will see its first daytime lane closure. It is planned around the 500 East exit in American Fork.
"Right now most of what was taking place was at night, but this is the first time when people will actually start to see major delays during the day -- where we're actually taking lanes, we're starting to close some roads, some ramps even," Carrillo said.
In Salt Lake City, northbound Beck Street will be closed to I-15 for 40 days for the construction and paving of new lanes. UDOT is advising people to remain on U.S. Highway 89, or to access I-15 on 600 North in Salt Lake City or 2600 South in Bountiful.
Redwood Road is also going to experience some lane restrictions outside of rush hour at 4700 South and 5400 South. Crews will widen the intersections to improve west-east travel.
"There's going to be some dual left-turn lanes at 4700 South at Redwood Road, and we're also going to be installing one of four continuous flow intersections at 5400 South and Redwood Road," Carrillo said.
Carrillo says by the end of the year, there will be four additional continuous flow intersections in the Taylorsville area, with the combination of flex lanes along 5400 South.
"They have proved to be very successful in the West Valley City area," Carrillo said. "Right now, it just makes sense to install these to improve the east west mobility in this part of the county."
More Utahns plan to travel Memorial Day weekend
More Utahns are planning to travel this holiday weekend than in recent years.
According to Triple A Utah, it is the first time in three years that Memorial Day travel is up among Utahns. More than 200,000 residents in the western United States plan to travel by plane and an estimated 2.5 million western residents plan to travel 50 miles or more. In Utah, gas prices may be playing a part in people's decisions to travel.
A gallon of unleaded gasoline in Utah is averaging about $3.07 -- seven cents cheaper than two weeks ago. Still, that's almost 20 cents more than the national average. And when you compare gas prices year to year, prices right now are still higher than what we were paying last Memorial Day weekend when prices were hovering around $2.26.
If you're hitting the roads this holiday weekend, expect to see more law enforcement. The Utah Highway Patrol says troopers will be out in force looking for impaired drivers and seat belt violations. They say 67 people have died on Utah roadways this year, and some of those fatalities might have been prevented with seat belts and more attentive driving.
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
