FARMINGTON — The Utah Department of Transportation plans to finish its I-15 and U.S. 89 projects in Farmington by the end of October.
Project manager Andrew Gemperline said UDOT is spending $185 million on several projects in the area. The end result will be that U.S. 89 will be accessible through Farmington without the use of traffic signals. And local access will rely on frontage roads.
Previously, left turns were allowed off busy U.S. 89 into local shopping areas and onto Shepard Lane. That presented an unsafe situation, and traffic was becoming a bottleneck in the area.
The three roads involved in the project are the Legacy Parkway on the southern end, the Shepard Lane interchange in the middle and the Cherry Hill interchange on the north, at the end of Fruit Heights.
"We're doing seven new structures in all," Gemperline said.
That includes the removal of seven bridges.
Gemperline said UDOT is committed to maintaining access through the area. However, continued shifts in traffic and some nighttime I-15 closures will be necessary to complete the project. UDOT still needs to take down one I-15 bridge and one U.S. 89 bridge.
As of last weekend, U.S. 89 access to I-15 through the area had improved. But Gemperline said that's because some frontage roads are being used as a temporary measure to avoid traffic signals until all bridges and ramps are finished.
"All work is also designed with the Legacy Highway (Parkway) in mind," Gemperline said.
The work is designed so that the proposed Legacy Parkway will connect with the reconfigured interchanges, if and when that project is given the green light.
Some corrections have been made to the Cherry Hill interchange, which originally opened a few years ago. It is almost ready for the final paving process and is expected to open by October, according to UDOT.
Andy Neff, UDOT's Region 1 spokesman, said work is winding down on a bridge project on the north end of Farmington's Main Street, U-273. Since last winter, the road has been reduced to one lane 24 hours a day, as controlled by a traffic signal, above Farmington Creek on the north side of Lagoon.
"Work should be completed by the end of June," Neff said.
He said the work also involves creating an underground pedestrian tunnel to the east of the creek crossing. As part of Farmington's master trails plan, a path someday will connect to that area. The tunnel will provide trail users with safe access under the busy highway.
E-mail: lynn@desnews.com