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August 13, 2009 -- Tour
The tour departed at 8:20 a.m. from the Saratoga Springs City Offices. Dave Nazare welcomed the group and gave an overview of the tour. Handouts were distributed for reference during the tour. The bus traveled south on Redwood Road to the Pioneer Crossing project. Shane Marshall briefly talked about the Redwood Road project currently under construction, and said it should be completed next spring. The bus traveled east through the Pioneer Crossing project. Bryan Adams talked about the project in detail. He noted that they are looking to open the roadway next spring. He also talked about the right of way acquisitions for the five Access Utah County projects. At the American Fork Interchange, the group viewed the batch plant and bridge farm located near by. The bus entered I-15 and traveled south. Dal Hawks shared information on the I-15 Core project. He talked about a proposed diverging diamond interchange for the 500 East/American Fork interchange, and the challenges with the 1600 North/Lindon interchange. The bus exited at that interchange, traveled to Geneva road and headed south. Mr. Marshall mentioned where the last ARRA project would be for the region. He then talked in detail about the Geneva Road project and Utah County’s proposal to help to fund the project. At the UVU West Campus, the group looked at where the UTA Commuter Rail station would be built. There was also mention of a new 800 South interchange being proposed as part of an ongoing environmental study. Mr. Marshall talked about the benefits of the proposed interchange and said it would take traffic off of University Parkway. There was a short rest break at this point.
Traveling east on University Parkway, Mr. Marshall talked about the BRT project, and doing a grade separation at Sand Hill Drive as part of the I-15 Core Project. At University Avenue, the bus turned north and traveled to 800 North in Orem. Mr. Marshall commented on the ARRA project on University Avenue that was three separate projects and combined into one project. Traveling west on 800 North, Mr. Marshall talked about the project that was completed last spring. At State Street/US-89, the bus traveled north. Mr. Marshall described an upcoming project on State Street. Mr. Nazare talked about jurisdictional transfers the region is proposing. At the Pleasant Grove railroad crossing, Mr. Marshall provided information on the current project under construction. The bus then traveled on SR-74 to SR-92. Mr. Nazare made additional comments on the jurisdictional transfer issue. At SR-92, the bus traveled west to I-15. Mr. Adams updated the group on the SR-92 project, providing detailed information. At the I-15 interchange, the bus pulled off to the side of the road, where the group viewed the I-15 interchange and heard a proposal for improving the interchange. Mr. Adams said they would like to do a retrofit diverging diamond interchange, but funding was an issue. The bus entered I-15 and traveled south to Lehi Main Street, exited and traveled west on SR-73. Mr. Nazare talked about the proposed transfer of SR-73 and SR-197 to Lehi City, and the city’s desire for a grade separation on SR-73 at the railroad crossing. The bus traveled on SR-73 west of Redwood Road; Mr. Marshall addressed the need to improve the bottleneck situation on the road to and from Eagle Mountain. The bus turned around and returned to the Saratoga Springs City offices. The tour ended at 11:30 a.m. The following Commissioners, UDOT staff, and others attended the tour: Stuart Adams, Bevan Wilson, Jerry Lewis, Kent Millington, Meghan Holbrook, Wayne Barlow, LeAnn Abegglen, John Njord, Carlos Braceras, Jim McMinimee, Tracy Conti, Ahmad Jaber, Bill Lawrence, Robert Pelly, Adan Carrillo, Dave Nazare, Scott Thompson, Shane Marshall, Bryan Adams, Dal Hawks, Joe Walker, James Christian, Bryan Cawley, Mark Bleazard, Darrell Cook, and Andrew Jackson.