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Davis Journal

I-15 Farmington to Salt Lake City study process gets going

Dec 08, 2022 03:27PM ● By Linda Petersen

Justin Smart, a consultant with Penna Power who is working on the UDOT I-15 Environmental Impact Statement Study from Farmington to Salt Lake, gave the Centerville City Council an update on the process at their Nov. 1 meeting.

These are early days in the study process, he told them. The project team had done some informal scoping with people from the area including businesses, neighborhoods and special interest groups and was preparing for a series of open houses that were to be held in November, he said. 

“Through that whole process, the bottom line is we did a lot of listening,” Smart said of the scoping. “There were things that we already knew needed addressed, but we wanted to know from the community members, those who live here, those who travel here, what needed attention, what potential solutions were.”

It seems likely that I-15 will need to be widened, Smart said in answer to a question.

“We’re probably not going to be able to accommodate the mobility of everybody without adding some capacity to I-15 to accommodate travel into 2050,” he said.

At the open houses more specifics were presented. The open houses included a Nov. 14 virtual open house, a Nov. 15 open house at Rose Park Elementary and a Nov. 16 open house at South Davis Recreation Center. Although these open houses have passed, the public comment period is still open until Dec. 16, and local residents can view all the materials presented at [email protected].

Two alternatives were presented for the Centerville stretch of the freeway in the interchange areas from Pages Lane/1600 North to the Farmington boundary:

 A – a Parrish Lane diamond interchange with a northbound connection to the east frontage road with a 12-foot shared use path (for pedestrians and bicyclists) on both sides of Parrish Lane, along with a grade-separated 14-foot shared-use path crossing over I-15 and the railroads at 400 South/Porter Lane.

AND

B – a Parrish Lane single point urban interchange with a northbound connection to the east frontage road with a 14-foot shared-use path on the north side of Parrish Lane and a grade-separated 14-foot shared- use path crossing I-15 and the railroads at 200 North.

In the same area between the interchanges, there would be a new grade-separated 14-foot shared-use path crossing at Centerville Park over I-15, the railroad lines and Legacy Parkway.

Options for other stretches of the freeway were also presented.

It’s not just about cars,” Smart said at the Nov. 1 meeting. “UDOT is not about moving cars; it’s about moving people, so we’ve paid attention to all modes and all users as we move forward.
“The purpose of where we are now is giving the public the opportunity of seeing these alternatives at a conceptual level,” he said. “We’re not designed out to the point where we know exactly where a line might be drawn. The focus in this phase is, ‘Did we get it right? Does it help your quality of life?’ The next stage will refine all alternatives through an engineering process.”

The draft of the environmental impact statement should be completed by fall 2023 with a final version ready to submit in the first half of 2024, Smart said.

“There have been funds programmed for construction but what form that will take is to be determined,” he said. “Likely 2026 would be the earliest construction would happen.”

More information is available at [email protected]. Local residents can also email the study team or call them at 385-220-5797. The project also has a Facebook page where updates will be posted: www.facebook.com/groups/udoti15eis

“We’re hoping that we can get the word out far and wide that people have a chance to come and weigh in on the future of transportation and quality of life in the area,” Smart said.