SALT LAKE CITY — Students across Utah are embarking on spring break and that means many families will be packing up for road trips.
Most students enrolled in Utah's public schools will go on spring break from April 1 through April 5, with a handful of districts taking break during the last week of March.
The Utah Department of Transportation warned above all, roads will be busy through the holiday weekend and into the first week of April. Expect delays and congestion on major roads across Utah as families take road trips.
Attention spring breakers. A lot of Utah schools have spring break over the next two weeks, and there’s a few things you should know if you’re traveling south of the Wasatch Front!
— Utah DOT (@UtahDOT) March 27, 2024
For northbound Interstate 15, UDOT expects peak travel days on March 31 and April 7, with traffic especially congested from noon to 6 p.m.
Heading southbound, I-15 will likely be congested from Wednesday through Friday over the next two weeks, UDOT said. Typically, many Utahns head to southern areas of the state and beyond to soak up warmer weather.
The best course of action if you want to avoid traffic is to adjust your travel time to avoid peak driving times. UDOT recommends leaving early or staying late to avoid the rush.
They also urged drivers to remember to zipper merge during traffic backups. Though it's a small effort, UDOT said it makes a big difference on the roads.
As the state expects spring break traffic, UDOT said work on I-15 bridges in Nephi has been paused to allow all lanes to open during peak travel times.
While avoiding spring break traffic completely is probably not possible unless you plan to stay home for the next two weeks, be smart about when you're on the road and where you're going and there's a good chance you won't have to sit in delays.
