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CEDAR CITY — A project that seeks to improve traffic along an increasingly congested section of I-15 received a major federal grant that will cover most of its final cost.
U.S. Department of Transportation officials announced Tuesday that the agency is sending about $70.4 million to the Utah Department of Transportation for its I-15 South Iron County Freight, Mobility and Safety Project, through the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program. The program, established by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill, seeks to help rural communities meet new "transportation and mobility needs."
The project calls for a new northbound climbing lane that will "facilitate truck movement" along a 16-mile uphill grade on I-15 that has had documented "safety issues" in the past, according to UDOT. Improvements will also be made to the interchange by the Cross Hollow Road to Main Street and Providence Center Drive connection in Cedar City, which is the northern end of the project.
The project is expected to cost about $117 million altogether, according to UDOT Region 4 spokesman Kevin Kitchen.
"This grant will allow us to make several improvements on I-15 that will enhance safety and increase traffic flow, including upgrading a key interchange and widening the interstate to three northbound lanes near Cedar City," said UDOT executive director Carlos Braceras in a statement.
Utah's grant is the largest of the 18 U.S. projects that received program funds this year. UDOT had initially requested about $125 million, but it ultimately received about $50 million less than that due to changes in its project scope.
Kitchen explained to KSL.com on Wednesday that there are now two projects planned for I-15 in southern Iron County to address congestion issues tied to its rapid growth. He said the Utah Legislature also directed about $90 million in transportation investment funds to a second project that adds a northbound lane by the Iron-Washington county line to the southern end of the I-15 South Iron County Freight, Mobility and Safety Project.
Both projects are on slightly different timelines, he adds. A design process is currently underway for the $90 million project; construction is on track to begin in 2025. Construction for the $117 million project is currently going through an environmental review process before a design process; construction is slated to begin in 2026.
Sen. Mitt Romney, who helped craft the 2021 bill that created the federal grant program, said Utah would receive the grant, a few days before the U.S. Department of Transportation made it official. He applauded the agency's decision on Friday, saying it will create "faster traffic" in the future for a county on the rise.
Iron County was Utah's fastest-growing county in 2022 and the fastest-growing county with a population of at least 5,000 this year, according to the University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. Kitchen said a lot of the growth over the past decade has been by the project areas, causing congestion issues.
In all, about $645.3 million were directed to the 18 projects. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday that he believes that all of the projects "will make transportation in rural communities better, safer and more reliable."
