Utah Highways Remain in the Dark

Utah has a real problem. It is a great place, and very beautiful. The people are great, and there are a lot of recreational and fun things to do. That's not the porblem. The problem lies with its DOT planners and engineers who just don't seem to understand economics or growth planning.

I cite a few developments. Number 1: The DOT (known as UDOT) recently forked out millions to restripe a carpool lane with two stripes in an effort to make it a limited access lane. (It used to be that you could exit or enter at your convenience. It was quite nice!) However, this new double stripe has been innefective in keeping people from crossing the lines. So, they are now going to pay 2 patrol officers to enforce the laws on the almost 60 mile continous stretch of carpool lane. Rather, UDOT should have saved their millions spent, and used it to improve the degrading I-80 stretch from the 215 Belt to the I-15 interchange. It was more needed.

They could have also used the funds to light up stretches of I-215 and I-80 that are dangerously dark. These 3 or 4 lane highways remain without adequate lighting (one section of I-215 is very dark as it is carved into a gulley that puts it below the natural ground level, making light a rare commodity on the highway.)

However, these concerns are minimal to my largest concern. The Salt Lake Valley is layed out with 4 main freeways. I-15 being the largest, I-215 is next, I-80 is a main trucking route, and the 201, which is used by commuters. However, these freeways have 1 thing in common. They all serve the area north of 60th south. The second thing is that the 15 and 215 are mostly north/south routes. The 80 and 201 are around 21st south and 30th south, and run east/west, but are for the most part 2-3 lanes in width. So, after about 60th south, there is no east/west freeway. WHY? Half of the valley's population lives in that vicinity, between 60th south and 140th south. And with houses and offices now spreading from 30th east to 70th west and beyond in that same region, why is there no east/west freeway somewhere between 90th south and 123rd south?

I have "enjoyed" watching the south end of the valley go through tremendous gridlock day after day, while musing at the fact that UDOT does nothing to remedy the issue. Not only that, but there is nothing of the sorts in their 30 year growth plan! This is absolutely absurd, and amazing! This section of the valley will probably see an increase of 250,000 or more peaople in the coming years. I "laugh" at the fact that it takes almost 45 minutes to travel from 20th east to 60th west, while the in the same time one can travel 40 miles to Provo from the same location.

Its time for UDOT to get out of the dark and see the light when it comes to planning a useable highway system, and not using discresionary funds to restripe an HOV lane that was fine the way it was, and spending millions doing it.

Its time to build an "I-280" like east/west belt before it is too late and the land is no longer available because the area is too crowded with population.