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WEST VALLEY CITY — A section of a busy east-west connection road in Salt Lake County is expected to be closed for up to a year as state transportation crews continue to convert Bangerter Highway into a freeway.
4700 South will be closed at Bangerter Highway beginning as early as Friday evening to make way for a new freeway-style interchange that will replace the existing intersection, according to the Utah Department of Transportation.
"We're closing down that through-traffic on 4700 South to make sure that construction can happen safely," said UDOT spokesman John Gleason, standing near the busy roadway on Thursday. "That's a big adjustment for people who live out here, but — when it's all said and done — it's going to be a vast improvement."
Drivers will have to detour around the construction to cross Bangerter Highway or make a left-hand turn once the closure begins. While Bangerter Highway drivers will be able to cross 4700 South without a stop light, drivers won't be able to make a left turn onto 4700 South.
UDOT recommends highway drivers use 4100 South or 5400 South instead of 4700 South over the next year. They're encouraged to use 3600 West and 4000 West to link back to 4700 South from those roads. This also applies to drivers looking to travel on 4700 South past Bangerter Highway.
Utah Transit Authority's Route 47 bus will also be detoured around the construction, which will likely cause bus delays along the route. Three of its 4700 South stops closest to Bangerter Highway will be closed, while a fourth — an eastbound stop near 3872 West — will be relocated.
There will also be no pedestrian access across Bangerter Highway at 4700 South during the closure.
The 4700 South closure is expected to remain in place until at least mid-2025, while Gleason said the full interchange is slated to open in the fall of that year.
Once complete, a bridge will allow those driving on 4700 South to cross Bangerter Highway. Northbound and southbound on- and off-ramps will replace the four-way traffic signal intersection. It mirrors similar work to build freeway-style interchanges in the southern part of the valley, which UDOT is either working on or has completed in recent years.
In fact, Gleason said there have been close to a dozen Bangerter Highway interchange projects over the past decade. The projects have been designed to turn the highway into a freeway for the roughly 60,000 vehicles that use it daily.
"There's a lot of excitement with these projects because once they're complete, you're going to be able to travel on Bangerter without interruption in Salt Lake County," he said. "That means getting to where you're going safer and faster."
