WASHINGTON CITY — Those traveling through Southern Utah simply can’t avoid the nearly 6-mile construction project in Washington County.
And perhaps nobody feels troubled more than the residents of Washington City, who lost their Main Street temporarily in exchange for a new interchange to be designated Exit 11. The good news? The project is on target to be completed by next summer.
St. George News met up with Utah Department of Transportation officials at the site of the interchange that has been under construction since March.
UDOT Field Engineer Nathan Merrill said crews are mostly working hours that keep them out of the extreme temperatures the region has seen over the past two weeks.
“A lot of them are starting at 3 or 4 in the morning and working till it gets too hot,” he said.
Currently, workers are installing the support systems for the bridges over Washington’s Main Street that need to be replaced. Merrill estimates that in October, workers will begin installing the new overpasses.
“They’ve already set the girders and started tying steel for the inside half of both sides of the bridge,” he said, “so that they can get the inside half of the new bridges done and move the traffic onto the new bridges.”
The interchange gives travelers an alternative option to exit the freeway, giving the Green Spring Drive exit some relief, UDOT Southern Utah Communications Specialist Lisa Ganz said. But another major component is the widening to three lanes in both directions of I-15.
Once completed, congestion between Exits 8 and 16 should be reduced because freeway travelers will have that additional lane, instead of the current two.
Both Ganz and Merrill noted that residents who frequently pass through the construction area can help prevent accidents by staying up to date on lane closures and traffic adjustments on the UDOT website and traffic app.
“The traffic patterns have changed slightly so drivers need to be aware and alert for traffic patterns changing,” she said. “We just want everyone to be safe, slow down when you’re in construction.”
Merrill said one of the easiest ways to maintain attention while driving in construction zones is to use common sense in areas where employees are trying to complete tasks while motorists drive by at high speeds.
“Put the phone down,” he stated bluntly.
Ganz said some work during the day is still being performed between the hours of 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. but construction workers must keep two lanes of traffic on the interstate open during daylight hours.
Therefore, most of the traffic shifts and lane changes are likely to occur during the evening and nighttime hours.
“We just want everybody to be safe,” she said.
UDOT Senior Communications Manager Kevin Kitchen told St. George News in an email that the project is slated to be completed by next summer.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.