LEHI, Utah – Drivers moving through Lehi on I-15 could see up to an hour of delay every weekend for the next eight weeks as Utah Department of Transportation crews go to work.
Crews have started bridge maintenance and repaving on I-15 from Lehi’s Main Street up to the interchange at 2100 North.
UDOT Spokesman John Gleason said drivers may not love the delays, but he said the work has to be done
“It's an important project,” he said. “It's a necessary project, but it is going to cause some headaches for commuters."
Crews closed two northbound travel lanes Friday night, and they will remain closed through 6 a.m. Monday. UDOT officials said with the exception of weekends with a holiday or BYU football game, the number of open lanes will be reduced for the next eight weekends.
Gleason said different lanes will close and reopen as the project moves along.
"This week and next week we're only looking at two lanes closed on northbound,” he said. “After that, a majority of weekend closures will affect both lanes of travel. So, we're looking at both north and southbound, and at that point that's where we really expect some major congestion issues."
UDOT officials said drivers can expect delays of up to an hour through Sunday evening. They urged drivers to avoid the areas or plan for delays. They said State Street is the road that will be most accessible to people looking for alternate routes in the area. Drivers can also use Redwood Road as an alternative.
Dwayne Baird with the Utah Department of Public Safety said they urge people to exercise special caution during the road work. He said distracted driving and high speeds are their biggest concerns.
"They're driving too fast, and we want people to slow down,” he said. “So we're going to be looking at speed. We're going to be looking at all the aspects of unsafe driving through this construction area."
Baird said their goal is to make it through the next few months without a single crash along I-15 in the Lehi area.
