New 4th lane closing again along I-15 in Utah County
UDOT expects to reopen stretch first week in June
The Utah Department of Transportation in November opened a fourth lane on northbound I-15 between Geneva Road in Lindon and 500 East in American Fork to help ease traffic in the area.
Now, as the $43 million car-pool connection project nears completion, UDOT plans to take back that stretch of road for construction purposes.
"We've come to a point in the project where we have to close that lane back down," said Geoff Dupaix, UDOT spokesman. "It means we're that much closer to getting (car-pool lanes in Utah County) open for motorists."
The fourth lane will close at 8 p.m. Sunday for road striping and the installation of freeway signs. UDOT officials expect to reopen the lane the first week in June, along with car-pool lanes on I-15 in both directions between the Alpine interchange in Lehi and the University Parkway exit in Orem.
With the completion of the Utah County portion, I-15 will feature a total of 40 miles of continuous car-pool lanes from University Parkway to 600 North in Salt Lake City.
"We look forward to providing congestion relief to Utah County commuters with the completion of the car-pool connection project," said Greg Searle, UDOT resident engineer.
"It helped," he said. "With motorists able to utilize that fourth lane, (traffic) opened up between (Geneva Road) and 500 East."
There was some slowing when the four lanes merged back to three, Dupaix said, "but it didn't create too much of a bottleneck."
"There were enough vehicles exiting at 500 East that it really did provide some benefits," he said.
It also gave Utah County motorists a preview of how much better traffic can flow with an additional lane on I-15.
An electronic sign on northbound I-15 will inform motorists of the extra lane's closure. Motorists should expect increased congestion in the area as a result of the closure, Dupaix said.
For more information about the car-pool connection project, visit www.udot.utah.gov/i15carpool or call 877-838-POOL.
E-mail: jpage@desnews.com
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