SALT LAKE CITY – More homes and more people in the south end of the Salt Lake Valley has created increased traffic and congestion, and Utah Department of Transportation officials are starting a construction project aimed at easing those concerns.
The project would create an overpass to send traffic on Bangerter Highway over Redwood Road, and the setup would be similar to the interchange at Bangerter and 7800 South.
UDOT Project Manager Troy Peterson said they are making the move because they anticipate the intersection will become too crowded to function in the next 6 years.
"Traffic in this area is expected to more than double by 2040,” he said.
The Utah legislature approved $42 million for the project, and UDOT officials said the project primarily benefits cities like Riverton and Bluffdale.
“This is going to be an asset to their community,” Peterson said.
Peterson said the change will ease congestion and make travel safer for pedestrians, cyclists and others in the area.
"We'll be providing accommodations for pedestrians as well as bicyclists to get through the area in a lot safer manner than what they're exposed to today,” he said. “Currently at that intersection... they have some pretty high volume of fast moving vehicles that they have to contend with."
UDOT officials said they will have to acquire property in the area in order to complete the project.
"A project of this magnitude, there will be construction impacts, but we'll do our very best to minimize those impacts and disruptions to the community,” he said.
UDOT officials are working to select a contractor for the project, and they hope to begin construction this summer in order to finish by the end of Spring in 2015.
