West Davis Corridor

[Great Lakes Roads]

Getting closer! UDOT is currently working on putting up new signs along the West Davis Corridor.

https://kutv.com/news/local/first-overhead-sign-raised-on-new-west-davis-highway-corridor-ahead-of-january-opening-farmington-west-point-exit-1a-sign-trail-construction-udot

[The Ghostbuster]

It's unfortunate that someone died while they were constructing the West Davis Corridor: https://kutv.com/news/local/udot-i-15-construction-crane-collapse-worker-identity-released-farmington-utah-department-of-transportation-west-davis-corridor.

[armadillo speedbump]

Utah seems to be one of the few places where projects like this can actually get done without massive delays and cost overruns. Last time I was out there, I was shocked at how much progress had been made specifically at the I-15 interchange. I'll be in Utah over Christmas and New Years, so if this is open by then, I'll be sure to drive it and get some photos.

Utah is perhaps the best run state in the country.  They take an actual balanced approach to transportation, the Salt Lake area's light rail network has equaled the much lauded Portland's in size, despite Portland having a many years head start.  But Utah also understands that growing areas will still need a growing road network, too.

No state is perfect, but I've long been impressed with how Utah has handled growth.

[Rothman]

Utah seems to be one of the few places where projects like this can actually get done without massive delays and cost overruns. Last time I was out there, I was shocked at how much progress had been made specifically at the I-15 interchange. I'll be in Utah over Christmas and New Years, so if this is open by then, I'll be sure to drive it and get some photos.

Utah is perhaps the best run state in the country.  They take an actual balanced approach to transportation, the Salt Lake area's light rail network has equaled the much lauded Portland's in size, despite Portland having a many years head start.  But Utah also understands that growing areas will still need a growing road network, too.

No state is perfect, but I've long been impressed with how Utah has handled growth.

Pfft.  Utah is ugly now.  Sprawl everywhere.  Yes, Trax is great, but it's getting harder and harder to find Zion in that polluted mess.

[Plutonic Panda]

Utah seems to be one of the few places where projects like this can actually get done without massive delays and cost overruns. Last time I was out there, I was shocked at how much progress had been made specifically at the I-15 interchange. I'll be in Utah over Christmas and New Years, so if this is open by then, I'll be sure to drive it and get some photos.

Utah is perhaps the best run state in the country.  They take an actual balanced approach to transportation, the Salt Lake area's light rail network has equaled the much lauded Portland's in size, despite Portland having a many years head start.  But Utah also understands that growing areas will still need a growing road network, too.

No state is perfect, but I've long been impressed with how Utah has handled growth.

Pfft.  Utah is ugly now.  Sprawl everywhere.  Yes, Trax is great, but it's getting harder and harder to find Zion in that polluted mess.

I got to Zion several times a year and I have zero clue what you're talking about.

Utah is beautiful. SLC is beautiful. To each their own.

[Rothman]

Utah seems to be one of the few places where projects like this can actually get done without massive delays and cost overruns. Last time I was out there, I was shocked at how much progress had been made specifically at the I-15 interchange. I'll be in Utah over Christmas and New Years, so if this is open by then, I'll be sure to drive it and get some photos.

Utah is perhaps the best run state in the country.  They take an actual balanced approach to transportation, the Salt Lake area's light rail network has equaled the much lauded Portland's in size, despite Portland having a many years head start.  But Utah also understands that growing areas will still need a growing road network, too.

No state is perfect, but I've long been impressed with how Utah has handled growth.

Pfft.  Utah is ugly now.  Sprawl everywhere.  Yes, Trax is great, but it's getting harder and harder to find Zion in that polluted mess.

I got to Zion several times a year and I have zero clue what you're talking about.

Utah is beautiful. SLC is beautiful. To each their own.

Zion in the Utah Mormon sense, not national park sense, silly man.

Go up the Church Office Building and see the smog below you.  It's horrifying.

Regarding SLC, sure, right around Downtown and out to the U is nice.  Get much south and west of there and it becomes quite apparent why the LDS Church had to step in and save the place by buoying up the City Creek development.

And anyone that says the I-15 corridor from Brigham City to American Fork is beautiful is just looking past the sprawl at the mountains.  Same rule goes for a lot of Appalachia:  Sure, it's beautiful, if you keep looking up and not at what's right around you.

[Plutonic Panda]

Ah. I believe a lot of that is due to worsening conditions at the Salt Lake. That is going to become a serious issue if they can't find a fix.

[US 89]

Regarding SLC, sure, right around Downtown and out to the U is nice.  Get much south and west of there and it becomes quite apparent why the LDS Church had to step in and save the place by buoying up the City Creek development.

I could not disagree more with this statement. I just went to Fashion Place Mall down in Murray today to return some Christmas gifts that were the wrong size and the place is thriving. South Towne down in Sandy is similar. There is less money in places like West Valley/Kearns or the western SLC neighborhoods so of course it won't look as nice or new in those areas. Crime there is high by Utah standards but is by no means out of the ordinary for a medium-to-large sized metro.

Also, you are grossly overestimating the role the LDS church has played in the city itself in recent years. City Creek has brought some increased pedestrian traffic to the northern downtown core, sure, but its effect on anything more than two or three blocks from it is almost nothing. Aside from the Gateway mall, which was doing absolutely fine before City Creek opened and ruined it by stealing almost all of its stores and customers. (A lot of my childhood memories were made at that mall, so seeing its downfall has been hard and sad for me, but that's beside the point here.) In the southern, more business oriented portion of the downtown core, there's been all kinds of business investment from companies like Goldman Sachs that has had at least as much or greater influence in further urbanizing the downtown than anything the Mormon church has ever done. This has been going on since the end of the Great Recession.

The last decade has turned SLC into a much more cosmopolitan city. I'm not saying it's something like Denver level, but it's far more than what it used to be. So in that sense, I guess it is less of a "Zion" simply because it's more diverse than homogeneous Mormonland. If you want that, you can go down to Utah County, which is basically one giant 700k population Mormon suburb, but even they are getting some real development with Silicon Slopes type activity around Lehi. On the other side, the Ogden/Weber/north Davis area has had diversifying influences for a long time in the form of the Air Force base and Freeport Center.

Outside of downtown SLC... yes, the Wasatch Front sprawls. So what? It's no different than literally any other significant American metropolitan region. And unlike the vast majority of such metro areas, you're just 30 minutes or less from truly beautiful hikes and nature in the mountains.

And as I have mentioned before on here, the winter inversions and associated smog in the valley are a problem maybe 15 days at most out of 365 days of the year. Visit SLC anytime not in December or January and it will hardly be an issue. You might find some wildfire smoke on a handful of summer days in some years if you're unlucky, but that is generally coming from fires in California or Oregon and so affects the entire western half of the US.

By all means, keep talking bad about the area - that way, less people move here and the rapidly ballooning cost of living might be kept somewhat in check...

Ah. I believe a lot of that is due to worsening conditions at the Salt Lake.

Not at all. The lake itself declining may cause some wind blown dust issues along with whatever chemicals have been discharged into it over the years in the future, but that's got nothing to do with anything else brought up here.

[Rothman]

Sandy?  Murray?  Those are suburbs (the former the home of my in-laws).  I was talking about SLC proper.

I don't think I overestimate the role of the LDS Church in keeping downtown SLC alive at all.  Anyone who walked outside of Temple Square to the south and west could see things were going kaput back then.  Again, that's the only reason why the Church stepped in: Temple Square is a huge tourist attraction and missionary tool for the Church and having urban decay on its front door was unacceptable.  There was some controversy within the Church about where the funding was coming from (not earthshattering, but some muttering).  And, SLC is better off for it, having personally seen how the immediate area has changed before and after the Church's influx of development funding. 

Still, to call the Valley "beautiful," I'd just reiterate what I said earlier.  The poor air quality out there is not restricted to the days of heavy inversions.  Anyone who is saying pollution is not a major issue in Utah is dismissing the medical professionals that have appeared on KSL claiming that they are encouraging people with kids not to move to the area.  I've got cousins-in-law with kids that have moved out to the fringes of the suburbs in attempts to help their kids breathe (asthma, irritated more by the pollution).

Regarding the toxic Great Salt Lake bed, we shall see if the dire predictions made in whatever highly publicized article it was come to fruition.  The pollution's already there in Utah; have to say I'd be a little amused if the toxic dust makes the place unliveable after hearing talk after talk on the "great, fertile valley prepared by the Lord" and whatnot.  The irony would just be too great.

[kurumi]

It opened today:
https://www.fox13now.com/traffic/new-davis-county-highway-opens-aiming-to-ease-traffic
https://x96.com/news/todd-nuke-em-reviews-the-new-west-davis-corridor-yes-this-is-a-review-of-a-road/

[US 89]

Drove it today. It was everything that had been promised and actually provides some really nice views of the plains and wetlands that line the eastern shore of the Great Salt Lake. As one might guess, the feel is quite similar to Legacy Parkway, but without the fancy overpass designs and red painted gantries. Otherwise, it looks and drives like a typical Utah freeway. Will upload some pictures when I get a chance.

Interestingly, the northern end at 193 is signed as "Exit 15", even though there is no exit at all. Right now and for the near future, 177 will simply default into eastbound 193, but it looks like grading is underway to extend 193 further west relatively soon. Looks like the infrastructure is in place to put a traffic signal at the 177/193 intersection once that happens. Reminds me of "Exit 24B" on Mountain View in SLC, which is a left turn across oncoming traffic.

(Side note: that would be the fourth extension to 193 in less than 10 years. Since 2015, the west end has been extended from State St/126 to 2000 West/108, 3000 West, and now 177, with another extension to 4500 West/110 in the works. I'd imagine nearby 107 gets outright decommissioned once that happens.)

Although we've been calling this the West Davis Highway/Corridor for years now, that name is not signed anywhere and the whole road is only ever referred to as SR 177. Which is fascinating, because apart from the interstates, I cannot think of a single other new-terrain urban freeway or expressway in the state that didn't get a name in addition to its number. We've had things like Legacy (67), Mountain View (85), Bangerter (154), Midvalley Highway (179), 2100 North (194), and even Southern Parkway (7). SR 201 I'm not counting since that was almost entirely an in-place upgrade of a surface highway that was there before, like the freeway components of US 89.

Also of note, the new BGS on northbound Legacy approaching the new 177 exit are all in Highway Gothic, which I believe is the first use of the traditional typeface on the Legacy mainline. That was the one road in the state that UDOT ever used Clearview on.