ST. GEORGE – The widening of Interstate 15 between Dixie Drive and Brigham Road is entering its final phases with microsurfacing and accompanying traffic shifts set to occur in just over a week.
Construction crews are paving the outside lanes of the roadway, and preparations are being made for microsurfacing and striping, according to an email update from the Utah Department of Transportation Friday.
Microsurfacing is a surface treatment for the new asphalt that helps ensure longevity of the roadway surface.
The microsurfacing and striping is set to begin Nov. 13 and go through Nov. 22.
As a part of this process, traffic shifts will occur on I-15 in the construction zone between the Dixie Drive/Exit 5 and Brigham Road/Exit 4 interchanges.
“There will be multiple shifts in traffic patterns and lane and ramp restrictions to accommodate the work,” UDOT officials said in the email Friday. “Please use extreme caution when traveling through and around the construction zone.”
Provided the weather and temperatures remain favorable, all lanes of I-15 and the Bluff Street entrance ramp are anticipated to open by Nov 22.
Hours of operation
- Daytime hours 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- All I-15 lanes will remain open during the daytime – two lanes in each direction.
- Nighttime hours 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- Two lanes open on I-15 in each direction with occasional single lane closures as needed.
Purpose of the road work
An auxiliary lane in both directions that will be added to allow drivers to enter the freeway and exit at the next interchange without merging with through-traffic or changing lanes, allowing drivers to continue unimpeded. The new lanes are anticipated to improve traffic flow and enhance safety.
Adding the new lanes has involved demolishing and replacing the narrow bridges over the Virgin River – a process expected to be done by December, if not earlier.
In addition to providing a third lane of travel, the new bridges will also accommodate the creation of a fourth lane in the future.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @MoriKessler
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.
We are all looking forward to completion of this project, and the normal flow of traffic.
It took UDOT a while to figure out that merging even at a reduced speed of 60 mph was dangerous, and finally took some steps at Brigham Rd northbound.
Forcing Bluff Street and Dixie Drive southbound into one on-ramp still seems irrational, especially when merging into southbound traffic that is not moving over. UDOT failed to implement the same lane transition that made Brigham Rd safer.
No one can argue that the new capacity is necessary, and a dramatically safer exit at Wal-Mart was overdue. My only request is that UDOT rethink the temporary lane alignments and construction zone speed limit…….
I agree. Why on earth UDOT didn’t set cones to force traffic into the left hand lanes heading south before the Dixie Drive on ramp is beyond me. It is a nightmare trying to get on I-15 from Dixie, as NO ONE gets over, and the “merging lane” is pretty much non-existent. I’m surprised there haven’t been more accidents/deaths there.
Me three! I even called the Mayor on a local talk show about it a couple months ago. I don’t know why they couldn’t have managed the southbound side as they did the north. I’m a retired Pilot and would have preferred a heavy weight takeoff out of La Guardia than the southbound ramp off Dixie Drive. At La Guardia, I knew what to expect and how to handle it. At Dixie, I don’t know until the last few seconds if there is going to be a ‘Triple’ in the right lane. Glad it’s almost over.