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[US 89]

As anyone who lives or regularly drives in the Salt Lake area knows, I-15 is a congested mess in the southern Salt Lake Valley. But interestingly, the projects to improve northbound and southbound traffic are completely separate, and on completely different schedules.

The southbound project is ongoing, and is expected to finish in fall 2019. That project will add a new southbound lane from SR-201 to 12300 South, as well as widen 7200 South to three lanes each direction near Bingham Junction Blvd.

It also includes some modifications to the I-15/215 interchange. The loop ramp from I-215 west to I-15 south will feed directly into the mainline interstate, instead of the C/D ramp as it does currently (though access to 7200 South will still be through the C/D ramp). In addition, the C/D road will combine with the 7200 South on-ramp, so that both ramps merge onto I-15 at the same point. The goal is to reduce the congestion that occurs on the C/D road today.

Southbound project website

The northbound project is still in the environmental assessment stages. However, the preferred alternative is quite interesting: it proposes two separate northbound collector-distributor systems. The first system (System A in the map below) is effectively a southward extension of the existing C/D road between 7200 South and I-215; this extension will be to 9000 South. A second system is proposed to extend from Bangerter Highway to 9000 South, where it will tie into System A.

Preliminary design for northbound project
Northbound project website



(Edited to fix image link)

[epzik8]

I’ve been driving up and down I-15 at various points between 257 and 298 since May. As of July there was some construction around MM283 in Utah County with a weird lane shift. I’m off exit 263 in Provo for the time being and haven’t been in Salt Lake County often enough to follow this project.

[BigManFromAFRICA88]

Just looked at the overhead design that UDOT put here at http://www.udot.utah.gov/i15northbound and found the right of way issues pretty interesting; it seems that a lot of homes/properties along Minuteman Drive north of Bangerter, Monroe Street north of 10000 South (which houses the new Mountain America Center; 10000 South also having plans of a half-diamond from the south but I don't remember where I saw it exactly), and the area near Copperview Rec Center.

Key to note as well for me is the basketweave at 9000 South which effectively shifts the I-215 exit south to a quarter mile north of the current 9000 South off-ramp. I feel like the current Monroe Street off-ramp that was added to the 106th South SPUI could have been much more prime location, leaving the current exit to I-215 (which they plan to delete under the current plan) from the mainline and letting the CD lanes merge back in with I-15 north of 72nd South (with an exit also to the Belt Route). But that's just me.

This project, along with the airport redesign, the Technology Corridor, and even the prospect of a freeway through Eagle Mountain has really opened my eyes to just how bustling the Wasatch Front has become. It scares me every time I come back from college in California how much more progress we make. Hell, even Bangerter has more (okay, maybe just "about the same number") grade separations than traffic lights now. I hope home doesn't change too much by the time I plan on coming back here and starting a family haha.

[US 89]

As part of this project, some of the signage on I-15 south around I-215 has been replaced. The new signage includes some fairly large APLs and adds letter suffixes to southbound exit 298:

[Kniwt]

As part of this project, some of the signage on I-15 south around I-215 has been replaced.

Awww ... are the references to "Belt Route" being removed?

[US 89]

As part of this project, some of the signage on I-15 south around I-215 has been replaced.

Awww ... are the references to "Belt Route" being removed?

Certainly seems that way - they are still there northbound, but that is on 2000-era signage that will likely be replaced in the coming years.

However, if they are being removed, this would be a very recent decision by UDOT. The Belt Route reference was included on most of the 2017 signage at the eastern 80/215 interchange, as well as on multiple 2015 BGSs at the north 15/215 interchange:

[compdude787]

Really hate the amount of blank space on those APLs. Those arrows should be shifted upward. Some of the arrows should be shortened to save space, similar to what is done for signs like these in the Netherlands and Germany.

[roadfro]

As part of this project, some of the signage on I-15 south around I-215 has been replaced. The new signage includes some fairly large APLs and adds letter suffixes to southbound exit 298:

An unnecessary letter suffix addition for exit 298. It's one exit from the mainline, so doesn't need the A/B exit distinction where the two ramps diverge...

[djsekani]

Any idea why the spot where "WEST" should be is still blank?

[US 89]

Any idea why the spot where "WEST" should be is still blank?

Because that lane splits in such a way that you can go either direction on 215 from it.

[mrsman]

Any idea why the spot where "WEST" should be is still blank?

Because that lane splits in such a way that you can go either direction on 215 from it.

I would think that in most other cases, to alleviate confusion, both directions would be mentioned.  I could say that if I was driving there, I would not know how to reach 215 west and it would be confusing without listing both directions over the right lane.

[US 89]

The new northbound C/D system finally opened this past Sunday. UDOT has even made a little explainer video:

The exit numbering is very strange if the signage shown in that video is accurate. Since the C/D road to 72nd South and I-215 leaves the mainline before the pre-existing Exit 295 to 9000 South, it's numbered 294A-C ... which places those exits very much out of order geographically. The southbound exit numbers aren't changing. So that means, although exit numbers are still in order with respect to each direction, going in geographical order from south to north we now have:

10600 South (293)
9000 South (295)
7200 South (294A northbound, 297 southbound)
I-215 (294B-C northbound, 298A-B southbound)
5300 South (300)

I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like this before - where the same exit is four numbers off in different directions.

[roadfro]

The exit numbering is very strange if the signage shown in that video is accurate. Since the C/D road to 72nd South and I-215 leaves the mainline before the pre-existing Exit 295 to 9000 South, it's numbered 294A-C ... which places those exits very much out of order geographically. The southbound exit numbers aren't changing. So that means, although exit numbers are still in order with respect to each direction, going in geographical order from south to north we now have:

10600 South (293)
9000 South (295)
7200 South (294A northbound, 297 southbound)
I-215 (294B-C northbound, 298A-B southbound)
5300 South (300)

I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like this before - where the same exit is four numbers off in different directions.

It looks like UDOT favored putting the exits in numerical order by numbering with respect to the milepost of the exit gore point instead of the milepost of the crossroad. For a C/D road, this makes more sense to me than using exit numbers out of sequence. But it does present this peculiarity of exit numbering in the different directions, especially given what appears to be a really long C/D road.

There's something similar with the I-15 C/D roads in the Las Vegas area, where exits in the northbound direction for I-215/CC-215, Russel Road, and Tropicana Ave are all one number less than they are in the southbound direction (SB has the milepost-accurate numbers based on the cross street location). But they aren't as far off as this.