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UTAH COUNTY -- The Utah Department of Transportation is gearing up for its biggest project ever. In a few months, I-15 in Utah County will undergo a massive expansion.
Interstate 15 in Utah County was completed in the 1960s, and UDOT says it is time for an upgrade. The Utah County I-15 corridor expansion project comes with a $1.725 billion price tag. UDOT says it told contractors what it could afford, and Provo River Constructors came back with a plan that not only greatly expands the I-15 rebuild, but gets it done quicker.
"We've received tremendous value," says UDOT Deputy Director Carlos Braceras. "We're going to be able to rebuild I-15 through Utah County from Lehi Main Street all the way down to and including Spanish Fork Main Street."
Braceras says the original plan had it stopping at Center Street in Provo.
The project will give drivers two more lanes from Lehi to U.S. Highway 6 and one lane from U.S. Highway 6 to Spanish Fork. The expansion will replace and restore bridges and rebuild interchanges.
In 2008 the highest peak area between Lehi and Spanish Fork (Orem 800 North) averaged 132,660 daily vehicles. By 2030, the highest projected area's average daily traffic (in Pleasant Grove) is expected to exceed 238,000. -UDOT
"This is tremendous investment by the state in infrastructure that will serve for many decades to help move people and goods through this county," said I-15 Corridor Project Director for UDOT Dal Hawks.
The project will start soon. "We're looking at signing the contracts here next week," Braceras says, "and the folks should start to see construction activities by early spring."
UDOT says the expansion was originally expected to be completed by 2014. Provo River Constructors said the project will be finished up by December 2012.
"We have every reason to believe they can do it, great team," said Hawks.
The project will also give a little boost to the state's economy. UDOT says the project will employ thousands at the peak of construction.
Drivers can expect a few delays, as with any construction project. UDOT will keep four lanes open in both directions most of the time.
"There will be periods where we have lane restrictions, but this team has worked hard to give us a proposal that minimizes inconvenience to the traveling public," Hawks said.
UDOT says it plans to use many techniques on the I-15 expansion that were used in previous projects, such as the accelerated bridge technique for I-80.
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Story compiled with information from Anne Forester and Becky Bruce.
