DAVIS COUNTY – Officials from UDOT are asking drivers in Davis County to weigh in on potentially major changes to Highway 89. Currently, the road isn’t equipped to let the amount of cars on the road during peak hours move smoothly.
Anyone who has traveled on Highway 89 during rush hour knows traffic can be so backed up that it might take someone several cycles to get through a signaled intersection.
“During the a.m. and p.m. peak periods, Hwy. 89 operates under failing conditions,” according to Project Director Mike Romero. “Due to the traffic volumes we have along the roadway, and the number of signals we have along the roadway, people are sitting at signal lights waiting multiple [cycles] to get through a signalized intersection.”
Romero says if the plan is approved, it would give the ten-mile stretch between Farmington a I-84 a completely different look. “Basically, it’s a surface street that has signalized intersections, similar to Bangerter Highway or other types of roadways. We’re looking at converting that into a controlled access freeway system,” he says, which would make it look more like I-15 or Legacy Parkway.
Project managers are trying to have their environmental document on the project finished by November, and they’re taking public comments now. A public hearing is set for September 7th at the Davis Conference Center in Layton. If it gets the greenlight, construction wouldn’t begin until at least 2019. “We have a lot of upfront, preliminary engineering work to do before we even start construction,” Romero says.
