LEHI — Motorists traveling north on I-15 in Utah County will encounter a lane split near Point of the Mountain, as crews rebuild lanes and widen the freeway.
The lane splits at the Alpine-Highland exit — two lanes on the left and two on the right — to allow Utah Department of Transportation crews to work on middle lanes. The right lanes take drivers on a stretch of new pavement, part of a project that started four months ago.
The new pavement is welcomed by commuters who have been dealing with gridlock near Point of the Mountain, especially at rush hour, as UDOT is expanding the freeway to create six lanes in each direction.
"It is the first new pavement that motorists are on right now, so we are pretty excited about that," said project director Tim Rose.
Point of the Mountain is notorious for long backups, especially at the beginning of long holiday weekends. UDOT believes the gridlock will be eliminated by the $250 million project.
Rose reminded motorists who plan to exit at 14600 South that they need to stay in the right two lanes.
There will be overnight lane closures, and a southbound lane split will be put in place in just a few weeks, where crews are finishing a stretch of new pavement. UDOT says these steps will help the contractor to have the 6-mile project finished by Christmas.
"We are going to be in this lane split configuration and reduced lane configuration for the rest of the summer and into the fall, until we get the project completed," Rose said.
The speed limit in the work zones is 55 mph.
Next spring, UDOT will rebuild I-15 between Bangerter Highway and 12300 South, a project that will take about six months.
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