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Drivers on I-80 can breathe a little easier this afternoon with a brand new, widened freeway. It was closed overnight and opened to the public earlier this afternoon.
The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) had a small holdup last night when a piece of equipment broke, but it obviously didn't set crews back. At 2 p.m. on the dot, cars were flying by.
The first cars that were let onto the new westbound I-80 got a police escort down the widened three-lane portion. The ride was a little dusty for the first drivers, but neat nonetheless.
"It's very exciting for me to have worked on this the whole time and to be able to give the traffic three lanes of beautiful freeway," said Mark Allington, with UDOT.
Now, from 1300 East to 700 East, drivers can enjoy three lanes on each side. The freeway then goes back to the two-by-three lane format from 700 East to I-15.
Along with the widened road, drivers will also notice other improvements. "We've added roadside barriers, sound walls. We've fixed some of the sight-distance problems that we had before," Allington said.
But before they could widen the freeway, crews had to move each barrier one by one to create the median. They also had to do some last-minute paving to smooth out uneven portions and touch up the lane lines.
Those lanes are still only 11 feet wide, narrower than the regulation 12 feet.
"We're still asking semis to use I-215 as an alternate route. Oversize loads and wide loads are restricted from this section still," Allington said.
Also reopened today: the I-80 westbound on-ramp from 1300 East near Red Lobster. But the eastbound 1300 East off-ramp will be closed for a year.
Starting tomorrow, the Highland Drive and 900 East underpasses will be closed for a week because of bridge demolition.
"We're going to get that done really quick so that there's no hindrance to the holiday shopping or the Sugar House business area," Allington said.
UDOT officials say by mid-December, they should have three lanes on each side from 1300 East to I-15; and by next year, five lanes on each side.
E-mail: ngonzales@ksl.com
