Paving the way

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LAYTON -- While many roads are closing for summer construction, one in Layton is scheduled to open Wednesday after months of major reconstruction.

Road crews spent last week straightening up the loose ends on the west Gentile Street project in preparation for a ceremonial reopening, said Paul Applonie, Layton city assistant public works director.

The ceremony will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the corner of Gentile Street and Main Street. The project began March 15, 2006.

The $9.2 million reconstruction of the 2-mile stretch of west Gentile Street, from Main Street to 2200 West, and a 1-mile stretch of 2200 West, from Gentile Street to West Side Drive, is the single largest road construction project the city has financed.

Although a portion of the road under reconstruction opened to through traffic last fall through the winter, it lacked a 2-inch asphalt cap, lane striping, stenciling and manhole lifts in removing dips in the road.

The final tasks being completed also include finishing up the quarter-mile length from Main Street to the FrontRunner commuter rail line.

That portion of road has been closed to traffic due to reconstruction of underground utilities in the area, including work associated with Utah Transit Authority commuter rail line, Applonie said.

"It is absolutely a Cadillac of roads," he said. "It has turned out really nice."

Gentile Street is the oldest major east-west arterial in the city, and the road project encompassed reconstructing the road literally from the ground, up, Layton city long-range planner Peter Matson said.Because of the investment made in the project, the city council announced recently it would officially reopen the road by hosting some type of ribbon-cutting ceremony somewhere along the 2-mile reconstruction corridor.

"I know it's the largest project I have ever been involved with," Applonie said.

Mayor Steve Curtis said having the road work complete is "a huge sigh of relief" for him. Living on the west side of the city, Curtis said, he recognizes the need for improving the east-west corridor to better serve residents.

"It is a good component to a better neighborhood," he said.

And despite the cost, Curtis said, it is a project that has been well worth the money the city has spent on it.

He said the city was able to complete the project using general funds, avoiding any bonding or debt.

"It falls in line with our philosophy as a pay-as-you-go city," Curtis said.

The reconstruction was performed by Whitaker Construction of Brigham City, with Granite Construction Inc. of Salt Lake City doing the asphalt work.

The reconstruction of Gentile Street is expected to improve east-west traffic flow through north Davis County.

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