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Arizona/Utah roadtrip observations:

Started by JKRhodes, May 31, 2016, 08:32:31 PM

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JKRhodes

We just got back home from a road trip that covered much of Utah and Arizona. Some observations:

Arizona:
New yellow diamond signs that say "No Median Barrier, next XX Miles" are starting to pop up all over the interstates. We saw them on I-10, I-17, and I-40. I'm curious as to why this initiative has begun.

US 89 widening was recently completed in Cameron, along with a new roundabout. It looks really nice. Got run off the road by an impatient oncoming driver passing cars just a few miles south of there; they can't widen the road from Flagstaff to Page fast enough, IMO.

We drove "The cut" on US 89 going to page for the first time since it reopened. Lots of earth got moved. There are one or two spots below the recently repaired section where the road whoop-dee-doo's a bit. Hopefully it's all stable and will continue to last a while.

US 89 at Horseshoe Bend: Holy Smokes! Lots of people parking down both sides of the highway around sunset time.

Winslow has a SPUI! I had never noticed that until just recently.

Utah:
Noticed variable speed limit signs on I-80 in Parley's Canyon, and I-15 through the Point Project, a first for me. Makes me wonder how easy or hard it would be to fight a ticket based on an argument of "I swear the sign said XX when I passed it."

Bangerter Highway: Wow! They're really knocking that one out. Seems like they've done a lot of work, even since the last time I was there. I saw a ton of crossover-left intersections, and a SPUI. We have family who live a block away from Bangerter Highway, and they said the state has been buying out a lot of homes to widen the road.

I really dig the passing lanes where the side with one lane has the option to pass if there's no oncoming traffic in either lane Seems to alleviate the impatient drivers to some degree.

I also really like the abundance of left acceleration/merge lanes on rural highways in Utah that follow the left turn lanes. Arizona had quite a few when I first got my license, but they've all but disappeared over the years here. Makes it so much easier to make a left from a side road onto a busy high speed rural highway.

We did a loop up through Provo Canyon up to Heber City, on to Park City, and down to Salt Lake on I-80. They did a really good job on that 4 lane road going up thru Provo Canyon. Lots of widening still in progress up by the Deer Creek Lake.

We took 89 all the way to 6, and dropped into Spanish Fork early in the evening. Everybody and their brother it seemed was coming the other direction, pulling a camp trailer of some sort up the hill for Memorial Day weekend. Traffic was heavy, and a little hairy, but the road rage in Utah seems all but nonexistent compared to Arizona.

Both states had plenty of state troopers to help manage the holiday weekend speeders. They seemed to do a real good job of picking out the real crazy drivers and leaving the "driving with a purpose" 5-10 over crowd be.

Overall, a fun trip. I keep telling my wife how much I like Utah every time we're up. I do however need to go up there for a visit sometime when it's cold, so I can figure out how much I really like it there.


Max Rockatansky

I've often heard similar sentiments about US 89 from Cameron but I've always found the traffic drops off the map at the intersection to US 160 over the years. 

Sonic99

If you drive anywhere in the vicinity of a road used to access the Grand Canyon this time of year, you will find an abundance of impatient idiots. I lived in Williams for 10 years and it was absurd. We always joked that they better hurry up or else they might fill in the canyon before they get there.
If you used to draw freeways on your homework and got reprimanded by your Senior English teacher for doing so, you might be a road geek!

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: Sonic99 on June 01, 2016, 06:18:56 PM
If you drive anywhere in the vicinity of a road used to access the Grand Canyon this time of year, you will find an abundance of impatient idiots. I lived in Williams for 10 years and it was absurd. We always joked that they better hurry up or else they might fill in the canyon before they get there.

I doubt you'd have many issues with AZ 67 since most people aren't going to tough it out to go out in the middle of nowhere on US 89A to get to the North Rim....at least that's what I've always found.  That was always my go-to digs during the summer season since it was still a reasonable drive from Phoenix and worth it to avoid the tourists.  US 180 wasn't a bad alternate since almost no GPS unit would take you that way if you really, really needed to get to the South Rim for some reason.

pumpkineater2

I second your curiosity about the "No median barrier" signs. I don't really know what they intended to accomplish by putting them up, especially on I-17. I mean really, for much of I-17, the carriageways are so far apart due to terrain, you couldn't veer across to the opposing lanes even if you tried. As for the other interstates... well it should be pretty obvious to drivers when no barriers are present. Nobody ever intends to lose control/go across the median; if its gonna happen, then its gonna happen. Drivers won't see the signs and go "Well now I'd better try extra hard not to lose control and swerve into oncoming traffic!" They'll say "Can they think of a more useless sign?" like I did.
Come ride with me to the distant shore...

andy3175

Quote from: roadiejay on May 31, 2016, 08:32:31 PM
Bangerter Highway: Wow! They're really knocking that one out. Seems like they've done a lot of work, even since the last time I was there. I saw a ton of crossover-left intersections, and a SPUI. We have family who live a block away from Bangerter Highway, and they said the state has been buying out a lot of homes to widen the road.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Bangerter Highway (Utah 154) is slowly gaining grade separated interchanges at key locations. Recently completed grade separations were built at Redwood Road (Utah 68) and at 7800 South (Utah 48). A new grade separation is under construction now at 600 West (I can't find a point where 600 West connects to Utah 154, so I am guessing 600 West will be a new road in Draper, along with associated development of that area, which appears undeveloped on the current Google Maps aerial view).

In 2018, UDOT plans construction at four additional locations for grade separation structures on Utah 154/Bangerter Highway: 5400 South (Utah 173 in Taylorsville), 7000 South (West Jordan), 9000 South (Utah 209 in West Jordan), and 114000 South (Utah 175 in South Jordan). Notable to me is the existing intersection with 5400 South (Utah 173), which has a very unusual configuration for northbound Utah 154 traffic making a left turn onto westbound Utah 173. The two left lanes cross over the southbound lanes first (signalized crossover), then make the left turn onto Utah 173 at the main intersection traffic light.

For more on the Bangerter Highway (Utah 154) improvements, see http://www.sltrib.com/news/3886660-155/work-on-new-bangerter-highway-freeway-like. These improvements will not make the whole corridor into a freeway, but it does address specific intersection congestion points along this busy expressway.
Regards,
Andy

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