I moved to Utah my freshman year and lived in the dorms. Up until I moved out of the dorms I didn’t realize the hair-pulling problem of getting to class in the mornings. Traffic moves faster going into California from Tijuana than getting down Foothill Drive to the U. And we’re not alone. All across the Salt Lake Valley, I am disappointed with traffic construction.
Utah recently started participating in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as American Waste and Incineration of $700 Billion Act.
Adan Carillo, the public information officer of theUtah Department of Transportation said that in regards to stimulus spending on construction projects, UDOT is doingits best by acting on backburner projects.
“We are spreading the stimulus money around for maintenance projects all over the state,” he said.
But even if the projects have a slight temporary benefit, it is still unsustainable spending on maintenance projects that wouldn’t have the same positive impact that actual development could. The money should have been spent on development projects with more potential for future financial turnover or state improvement.
Of the jumble of problems, the biggest disappointment is with poor construction planning, like the mess that is Interstate 80 construction. The state of Missouri boasts a good example of what construction, development and planning should be. Highway 40 in St. Louis (similar to I-15), feeds most suburban residents into the downtown area. Recently, the highway was beginning to feel the effects of old age and was falling apart.
“The Missouri DOT worked with competing contractors, elected officials and municipalities and exchanged government plans with what the private contractors estimates and with what they could accomplish in terms of quality and efficiency,” said Cathie Farroll, a consultant to the MissouriDepartment of Transportationwho works for HTNB Architecture Inc., which was hired for the project.
These contractors offered more than just construction plans, or drawing up maintenance efforts; they offered their best solutions to handle traffic flow. They added turn lanes to secondary roads, replaced stop lights with stop signs, and prioritized cross bridges for traffic. Because of their planning and collaboration they will finish the complete overhaul of 10 miles at the end of this year after starting in January 2008.
In Utah, after two years of I-80 construction, we still have traffic congestion, clogged intersections, ramps closed and bridges being held up by wood planks. The Missouri project shows that it is possible to have better preparation to handle the project with better traffic redirection and swift completion, but Utah dropped the ball.
Solutions are possible. UDOT is preparing for a project for a better road running from I-80 near 5800 West down through West Jordan into Lehi.
Solutions to getting to the U are more difficult because ofheavy residential and commercial areas. But instead of just tapping the surface, Utah needs to improve its efficiency and revamp its planning efforts to be more comprehensive. Take Missouri’s lead.