LAYTON -- After a year of road construction, the Top of Utah's transportation landscape hasn't changed all that much, but 2011 marked the beginning of several major projects.
The road construction season was relatively light compared with the last few years, but the Utah Department of Transportation still managed to spend nearly $100 million on road projects in Weber, Davis, Box Elder and Morgan counties in 2011.
Most of that money was spent on upgrade and reconstruction projects, with no major new construction.
UDOT Region One spokesman Vic Saunders said the amount of significant projects completed during the past few years -- the Layton Parkway interchange, Riverdale Road, 12th Street and the Hinckley Drive extension -- is part of the reason why the cupboard was relatively bare in 2011.
Funding for the area also decreased in 2011 because the state dedicated a large amount of money to the Interstate 15 corridor expansion in Utah County.
"We might not have done as much as we have in years past," Saunders said. "But we actually did a lot of things that improved the overall mobility in (the Top of Utah)."
In Ogden, crews finished work on the eastern portion of 12th Street. The project was initially set to begin in 2010, but funding adjustments delayed it until this year.
The rehabilitation project improved the pavement on 12th Street from Washington Boulevard to Harrison Boulevard and should last at least 20 years.
UDOT also added auxiliary lanes to I-15 between Bountiful and Centerville, and Clearfield and Layton.
I-15 in Box Elder County also received work, with pavement rehabilitation expected to add 10 years of life to the road.
But most significantly in 2011, environmental work was started or completed on four projects that will cost the state millions of dollars and have major impacts on the region.
Saunders said the environmental studies on the West Davis Corridor, 1800 North in Clinton and 24th Street in Ogden all began this year.
The West Davis project will likely extend the Legacy Parkway into Weber County, while the 1800 North project will add a new interchange to I-15 leading into Hill Air Force Base.
The 24th Street project will convert the road into a full interchange for I-15 and widen several other roads in the area.
Environmental work on an extension of State Road 193 in Clearfield wrapped up this year, paving the way for the $70 million extension project to begin in the spring.
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