A headache diminished
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No comments [ Add Comment ]Officials at the Utah Department of Transportation still remember the widening of north Washington Boulevard in Ogden more than a decade and a half ago. And those memories aren't pleasant -- they include businesses going belly-up and a project that, generally speaking, did not conform to the needs of commerce or of those who simply wanted to drive on the roadway.
That Washington Boulevard widening/reconstruction project was not atypical for the time. It was emblematic of the way the state and its subcontractors used to do business -- an unpleasant experience all around.
But during the intervening years, UDOT has put its act together. Long before the orange barrels and cones are up and the heavy machinery is at work, the state and its subcontractors have been meeting for months with local businesses and city officials to devise strategies to mitigate harm to commerce along roads that are under construction. A great example of this is the just-commenced Riverdale Road widening/reconstruction project. Businesses have been organized, provided with information and been encouraged to provide input as to how the project should proceed.
This said, no one's under the illusion this road work will not affect those businesses along Riverdale Road -- or those people driving the 47,000 vehicles that use the road each day, 37,000 of which are commuters; Riverdale Road is one of Utah's busiest non-freeway streets. Road construction is always miserable to some extent, but this job includes pledges to open more lanes during morning and evening drive times, do most of the work at night, and a guarantee to open five lanes of traffic between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
It's worth remembering, too, that improvement of Riverdale Road will benefit all along its path. The communities of Roy, Riverdale, South Ogden and Ogden will be better served by a wider Riverdale Road -- an extra lane in each direction, improved turning lanes and a rebuilt I-84 interchange. (If the money becomes available, UDOT will also rebuild the I-15 interchange.)
The reason Riverdale Road is so crowded is that for many who use it, there's no good alternative route -- traveling on northward to the next exit takes you all the way to Ogden's 31st Street, and you'd have to backtrack to get where you're headed. So, it'll be a pain, but a necessary one.
We appreciate the cooperative effort that's ongoing between UDOT, its subcontractor and the businesses and cities along the route. Compared to the way these sorts of things used to be done, there really is no comparison.
