Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Get ready for a big shift on I-80 in the reconstruction zone. When the Monday morning commute rolls around, motorists will drive on new pavement.
These are the biggest, positive changes so far in the Innovate 80 reconstruction project. The halfway point for the project is still more than a month away, but come Monday, we'll all get to test the new pavement, and it will be a safer ride.
Manager of the Innovate 80 project, John Montoya, "Seventeen bridges total on this project, two-and-a-half miles of pavement. Just really excited to be at this point."
It's a long feeder that starts at 1300 East, but it's the first use of the new concrete. Monday, the westbound onramp at 1300 East will reopen while the eastbound off-ramp will close for further construction.
A full closure in the construction zone starts at 11 p.m. Saturday and runs until 2 p.m. Sunday. That sets up a shift from old to new pavement.
"This is in preparation for our midway milestone, which we hope to hit late November, early December, when we'll be halfway complete with the project," Montoya said.
From 700 East to 1300 East all traffic will shift on to the new surface, with three lanes in each direction. During the closure from Saturday into Sunday, crews need to build a transition ramp to get the cars from the new pavement to the old pavement. It's a difference of about a foot in height.
"We'll be laying 1,500 tons of asphalt this weekend over a short period of time, and just doing a lot of work," Montoya said.
Alan Kirton, the Wadsworth Construction supervisor, said, "We have a little bit of barrier work on a few ramps, but we're ready to go. We were ready to go last weekend, and the weather shut us down. So we're ready to go this weekend."
You'll also start to see color on the soundwalls as crews begin to stain them green at the base and shades of brown on the panels.
This upcoming shift enables workers to demolish old bridges at Highland Drive and 900 East. They want to get that done and reopen those streets before the holiday shopping season starts around Thanksgiving.
E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
