- Spring break travel may cause delays on Utah roads despite high gas prices.
- UDOT warns of delays on I-15 and U.S. 6; a Bangerter Highway closure may also cause problems.
- Gas prices in Utah have risen to $4.16 per gallon amid to supply disruptions.
SALT LAKE CITY — The average price of a gallon of regular gas surpassed $4 statewide this week, but Utah transportation officials say they don't expect that it will dissuade spring break travel.
Utah Department of Transportation engineers anticipate that road travel could be higher over the next few weekends, which can create unusually long delays on some of the state's biggest routes beginning on Friday.
The agency warns that delays are possible along southbound I-15 between Cedar City and St. George from noon to 7 p.m., and between Spanish Fork and Nephi from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Delays could peak closer to 45 minutes in southern Utah, especially around 3 p.m., while peak delays of up to 25 minutes are possible near the Utah County section around 5 p.m., officials added.
Delays are also possible on eastbound U.S. 6, with peak delays of up to 15 minutes on Friday evening. Some additional delays are possible again on Monday, said UDOT spokesman John Gleason.
"A lot of schools have their spring break following this next weekend, so people are planning to take Friday off and hitting the roads," he told KSL. "If you can plan to travel at any other time other than Friday afternoon, you may save yourself some of those headaches of being stuck in congestion."
Some projects might add to the chaos. Bangerter Highway in Salt Lake County will be closed from 7200 South to 9000 South from Saturday morning through early Monday to allow Rio Tinto to repair a high-pressure water line running underneath an underpass in the area that was recently hit by a truck, Gleason said.
Both directions of U.S. 89 will be closed from Park Lane in Farmington to Parrish Lane in Centerville from 10 p.m. on Friday and 6 a.m. on Saturday while crews pour bridge deck for a new pedestrian bridge in the area. Drivers can use northbound I-15 and southbound Legacy Parkway as alternates.
However, I-15 will also be reduced to two lanes in each direction between State Street and Park Lane in Farmington from Friday evening through noon Saturday, while crews work on the median and signage in the area.
Gas prices surpass $4 per gallon statewide
The other headache comes at the pump. Utah's average gas price rose to $4.16 per gallon statewide, after rising $1.38 per gallon over the past month, AAA reported on Thursday. The organization anticipates that the national average will soon cross $4 per gallon for the first time since August 2022.
Most of the increase is tied to impacts from the fallout of the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that began a month ago, which hampered supplies, but spring break has also increased gasoline demand, which has also factored in the rising prices, said Julian Paredes, spokesperson for AAA Mountain West Group.
Iran's blockage of the Strait of Hormuz — a key shipping channel in the Middle East — has disrupted global oil and natural gas shipments since the strikes. President Donald Trump extended his deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz to April 6 amid another potential escalation, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.
Gas prices are higher in some parts of Utah than others in the meantime. They were as high as $4.46 per gallon in Beaver County, while the lowest was $4.04 per gallon in San Juan County, according to AAA's fuel price index.
Contributing: Brian Carlson
