OREM — Good news, Utah County motorists: About four miles' worth of traffic relief is on the way.
The Utah Department of Transportation on Sunday will open a general-purpose lane on northbound I-15 from Geneva Road in Lindon to 500 East in American Fork in an effort to relieve traffic congestion.
"We see heavy traffic congestion every night northbound between Geneva Road and 500 East," said Greg Searle, UDOT resident engineer.
"With this segment of the construction project opening," he said, "our hope is to make the commute easier for Utah County residents."
The additional lane is part of the carpool connection project and ultimately will become a carpool lane, said Geoffrey Dupaix, public-involvement coordinator for UDOT.
Plans for the project didn't call for the lane to be opened for general-purpose traffic during construction, Dupaix said.
"It was really something that, as we took a look at the situation in that area, we saw that there was an opportunity to provide some congestion relief in the interim," he said.
UDOT is able to open the northbound stretch because about 1,000 vehicles exit northbound I-15 at the American Fork interchange daily during peak times, Dupaix said. With that much traffic exiting the freeway, northbound motorists traveling beyond 500 East will be able to safely merge back into traffic, he said.
The carpool connection project will extend carpool lanes from the Alpine interchange in Lehi to the University Parkway exit in Orem.
The expansion will create a total of 40 miles of continuous carpool lanes on I-15 and is expected to be complete in early summer 2006.
Cost of the project is estimated at $42 million — $30 million of which was allocated through the Transportation Improvement Fund created by the state Legislature. The remaining $12 million was funded by the federal government.
The project includes the expansion of bridges at 13 locations, filling in the median and replacing the cable barrier with a concrete barrier.
The project calls for construction on bridges to continue throughout the winter, according to UDOT.
On Monday, work on the freeway bridge at Center Street in Orem will reduce traffic by one lane from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and likely cause some slowing. On Wednesday, traffic on the 400 North bridge in Orem will by reduced by one lane overnight.
Daytime bridge work is planned next week on 300 West in Lehi. That section of 300 West will be closed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday.
Overnight closures of U.S. 189 in Provo Canyon for excavation work will also continue next week near Deer Creek Dam, according to UDOT.
The highway will be closed between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Monday through Friday. Motorists will need to use I-15 and I-80 as alternate routes.
For more information about the carpool connection project, go to www.udot.utah.gov/i15carpool or call 877-838-POOL.
Closure information on the Provo Canyon construction can be found at www.udot.utah.gov/provo-canyon and on electronic roadway signs located near Provo Canyon and on U.S. 40, I-15 and I-80.
E-mail: jpage@desnews.com