I-15 South Davis Project Begins

[andy3175]

http://www.udot.utah.gov/i15southdavis/

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is working to improve mobility on I-15 and east/west corridors in South Davis County to meet current traffic needs.

The I-15 South Davis Improvements project will:

- Add ExpressLanes in both directions from the north I-215 interchange to U.S. 89/Park Lane in Farmington.
- Replace aging bridges at 2600 South, 1500 South, 500 South, and 400 North.
- Reconfigure the interchanges at 2600 South and 500 South in Bountiful to improve east/west mobility.
- Improve active transportation with better pedestrian facilities at 500 South, 400 North and Parrish Lane.

I-15 will remain open without restrictions during peak hours. However, to avoid delays, please consider an alternateÃ, route, such as Legacy Parkway, or use FrontRunner for your daily commute.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/57738910-90/500-com-freeway-lanes.html.csp

The $117 million project is scheduled to begin in mid-April to add new express lanes from North Salt Lake to Farmington, said Nathan Peterson, UDOT project manager. It is scheduled for completion in July 2015.

When finished, Utah will have the longest-in-the-nation stretch of continuous express lanes from Spanish Fork to Layton, about 80 miles. Those lanes are open to cars with at least two passengers, people who pay tolls through electronic transponders, motorcycles or motorists with clean-fuel vehicles.

The biggest changes will come to the 2600 South Bountiful/Woods Cross interchange. "It was built when the Interstate was first built in the Salt Lake City area," Saunders said. "It was designed to serve traffic through maybe the early "˜90s. As the area has grown, we have a situation now where this intersection is overwhelmed with traffic." Peterson said the redesigned interchange will be unique in the United States, and essentially is a hybrid between innovative "diverging diamond" and "continuous flow" interchanges it recently has been using elsewhere, such as on Bangerter Highway in Salt Lake County.

The 500 South interchange will also change significantly, with a "diverging diamond," where cars temporarily drive on the "wrong" left-hand side of the road to eliminate left-turn signals and help speed traffic.

UDOT is able to build the new project without buying new land for the widening, Saunders said. That's because the existing freeway has a wide footprint, with much of the land unused.

[triplemultiplex]

Been through there several times since the start and so far, all that's been done is a shifting of the NB travel lanes west a few feet and the demolition of some existing sound walls.

I haven't read anything to this effect, but will UDOT be getting rid of that SB left exit for US 89?  That really seems like it should be part of this project.

This is an interesting interchange design:

[Zmapper]

It's like a SPUI, but with one left turn movement realigned to pass through three lights instead of one to accommodate another intersecting road.

Very interesting indeed.