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Jed Boal and Tom Callan reportingAs we all look forward to warmer days ahead, road builders pick up the pace on construction projects around the state. The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) calls it a record summer ahead.
Just about everywhere you drive you'll see digging, grading and paving this summer. This season UDOT will tackle more construction projects than any year before. But you can keep an eye on progress on the roads that matter to you better than ever before.
Orange barrels, hard hats and heavy equipment; road building accelerates in the weeks ahead. UDOT will improve beat-up surfaces, widen major routes and open Legacy Parkway after years of planning and pitfalls.
"We'll have just over 200 projects under contract at the peak of our season this year, with a contracted value of just under $2 billion," explained John Njord, UDOT executive director.
Njord talked about the construction season in the middle of the construction zone on 9000 South between I-15 and 150 East. Crews will add capacity and improve safety in a project that wraps up July 4.
"We want to be in a proactive mode of telling people what's transpiring with the projects so they can know where and why we're doing the work we're doing," Njord said.
"Know Where, Know Why" is the name of the campaign to give you the latest information on construction statewide and get a status report on 22 of the biggest projects via the Internet. Pamphlets will also be distributed at hotels and Subway restaurants across the state.
Work on I-80 continues for a couple of years; and farther north, Legacy Parkway opens this fall after more than a decade of planning, legal limbo and then construction.
Crews will also finish I-15 expansion from Ogden through northern Weber County. Riverdale Road, one of the busiest thoroughfares in the state, gets an extra lane in each direction.
Road builders have a full load across the state. Expect delays headed south on U.S. 6--extra passing lanes will continue to improve safety on that busy highway.
Don't expect construction to ease in the coming years, either. The list of UDOT project continues to grow.
For more information on UDOT's "Know Where, Know Why" campaign, and to find construction information on construction projects in your area, click the related link.
E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
E-mail: tcallan@ksl.com
