The Utah Department of Transportation, nearing completion of a massive rebuild of I-15 in Salt Lake County, now will turn its attention to I-15 in Utah County.
The Utah Transportation Commission Wednesday voted in favor of spending $900,000 over the next nine to 18 months to study what improvements and possible freeway expansion should take place in the greater Provo-Orem area.
The study will be conducted in two phases. The first, to cost about $300,000, will examine three specific areas, according to Max Ditlivsen of UDOT's program development office:
It will look at each I-15 interchange in the county and decide which ones need upgrades or full reconstruction.
Second, the entire corridor will be examined for traffic congestion to see if lane additions or other enhancements need to be made.
And third, UDOT will attempt to pinpoint where new interchanges might be built — information the county's cities
have requested so they can plan accordingly.
Commissioner Hal Clyde cautioned that in doing so, UDOT would not be committing itself to building new interchanges or even to exact locations.
Clyde also wondered whether ongoing improvements to three existing Utah County interchanges might become obsolete based on the outcome of the study.
"It's always the chance you take because traffic flows change," Clyde said, answering his own query.
The second phase of the study would include preliminary environmental and design work for the projects identified in the first phase as having the highest priority.
The planning study also will include an accident review for the corridor and possible recommendations to improve safety.
E-MAIL: zman@desnews.com