Hurrying to sign on the dotted line, Mayor Stella Welsh was granted the authority to OK a new access agreement for 1300 South that officials hope will forestall gridlock in that area.
It will also cost Orem $310,000.The agreement rearranges some of the access points along the busy corridor - one of the busiest in the state - and allows for changes that should help keep traffic moving freely between Utah Valley State College and Orem, and Provo and Brigham Young University even with the new businesses coming in all along the street.
Ed Stout, city director of development services, explained that the agreement has been held up pending the approval of a new Golden Corral Metro store next to FHP of Utah at 145 W. 1300 South. That wait has virtually brought the Lake Pointe Shopping Center construction to a standstill, said Stout, since the Utah Department of Transportation would not grant access to that project until the new agreement was signed.
The revised access agreement calls for Orem to pay $310,000 of the total $450,000 costs that will provide signal lights every two blocks, adding two new ones at 200 West and 400 West; and realign
the access in front of FHP and construct a right-in, right-out access at 100 West and at the odd-numbered intersections. It may also include raising or enhancing the median to discourage left-hand turns across the lanes.
The private sector is paying for $140,000 of the project's costs.
The city saved almost $70,000 by waiting for the Golden Corral approval, said Stout, since Golden Corral, as a new business, will pick up its share of the improvements.
Existing businesses along 1300 South will not be asked to pitch in for the changes, said Stout.
Orem will pay its share with money redirected from Redevelopment Agency projects.