The roads were already getting a dumping of snow late Thursday night. UDOT says prepare for delays Friday afternoon in time for spring break. Photo courtesy of UDOT/Mark Jackson
SALT LAKE CITY — Spring Break 2021 is expected to leave its mark on Utah’s roads late this week. The Utah Department of Transportation said drivers can expect delays on I-15 in Salt Lake and Davis counties as soon as early Friday afternoon.
A press release sent on Thursday advised planning for extra time if you’ll be driving on I-15 in Davis County around 2 p.m. UDOT said drivers could expect an extra ten-minutes of additional delays through 7 p.m. Friday evening. Southbound I-15 delays are also expected in Davis County between the hours of 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
In Salt Lake County, peak travel times on Friday are expected in both directions of I-15 between 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. UDOT said to plan up to 15 minutes of additional delays as spring break traffic is expected to mix with Friday rush hour delays.
Other areas where extra spring break traffic is expected include U.S. 191 in Moab, U.S. 6 in Spanish Fork Canyon, and I-15 in St. George.
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UDOT spokesman John Gleason said average delays will be about 15 minutes at a time, and while that may not seem like a lot, it does add up.
“If you can avoid it, if you have the information ahead of time and can plan ahead, we don’t want people stuck in traffic out there, especially if you’re heading out of town to enjoy spring break, you don’t want to waste time in traffic,” said Gleason.
He says what could complicate things is snowfall during Friday morning’s rush hour. Snow is expected to move out of the valley by 1 p.m. Friday afternoon and Gleason said we are not expecting a major storm, but a combination of winter weather and spring break is likely to add delays to the mix.
“It’s a bit of a wild card situation this year because everything has changed, and traffic patterns have not been something we have been able to necessarily rely on in a pandemic year. It’ll be interesting, but I think there will still be a lot of folks wanting to get out of the house and on to the roads heading to the weekend,” he said.
Gleason added with so much in the mix, including wet roads, it’s important not to be distracted, to drive safely and to plan ahead. Triple Team Traffic begins on KSL Newsradio at 4 p.m. Friday afternoon during Jeff Caplan’s Afternoon News.