UDOT reflects on busy 2020, looks ahead to projects in new year

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Officials with the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) say crews were busy in 2020, completing 135 projects statewide with a total value of $1.05 billion.

135 UDOT projects completed in 2020

Some of the projects centered around widening highways, while others were more focused on adding passing lanes, repaving roads or adding safety improvements.

Of the 135 completed projects in 2020, UDOT spokesperson John Gleason says the I-15 Technology Corridor in Utah County stands out.

“We widened a four mile segment of road from four lanes to six lanes,” he said. “Four miles doesn’t sound like a lot, but there are 17 bridges in that four mile stretch.”

Part of the project also included adding a new one-way frontage road system, a first of its kind in Utah.

Another noteworthy completed project is the Strawberry Passing Lanes in Wasatch County. Crews extended the westbound passing lane on U.S. 40 an additional five miles east of Daniels Summit.

According to Gleason, ongoing construction projects typically get all the attention, leaving residents to unaware about the other work they do.

“We talk a lot about these projects when they’re ongoing, but we don’t always close the loop on them and let the public know just what they got for their investment,” he said. “I think that’s important.”

Ringing in the new year

Officials say there always will be overlap year-to-year on some projects and that again was the case in 2020. Throughout the year, crews were working on U.S. 89 widening and reconstruction in Davis County, the I-15 Express Lanes extension in Davis and Weber counties; plus the construction of a collector/distributor system in Salt Lake County.

None of those projects were officially completed in 2020, meaning that work will continue into the new year. With varying amounts of work remaining, UDOT estimates the work will be completed sometime in the next 12 to 24 months.