OGDEN — The state and the city are hoping to give 24th Street in Ogden a boost.
The Utah Department of Transportation and Ogden city will hold a public hearing to show the preferred alternatives and potential impacts of a project to build a full Interstate 15 freeway interchange at 24th Street.
The hearing will be from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. July 17 in the Wattis-Dumke Room at Union Station, 2501 Wall Ave.
UDOT and Ogden are studying the 24th Street corridor area for potential improvements that will increase roadway capacity, function, access and safety.
Specifically, road officials are studying the Midland Drive and 2550 South intersection, the 24th Street Interchange, the 21st Street Interchange, the 24th Street corridor itself and the area within the Ogden City Industrial Park.
The biggest piece of the study is the possibility of building a full interchange at 24th Street. Currently, there is only a northbound freeway off-ramp and a southbound on-ramp at 24th Street.
There are currently six alternatives for the project, which include a number of different interchange and roadway designs. To view the alternatives, go to www.udot.utah.gov/24thstreetea.
In the late 1960s, when I-15 was being constructed west of Ogden, full interchanges were included at 31st and 12th streets, but 24th Street was constructed as a half interchange in order to reduce conflicts with the railroad and other land uses.
Although I-15 has been widened and many bridges and ramps have been reconstructed, 24th Street has remained a half interchange.
UDOT Region One spokesman Vic Saunders said the Weber and Ogden rivers, I-15 and the Union Pacific Railroad create barriers that restrict traffic flow between west Ogden and downtown Ogden.
Saunders said the 24th Street corridor has been the traditional entrance to downtown Ogden from the freeway and western Weber County.
It’s one of the few east/west roads that cross the Weber River, Union Pacific Railroad tracks and I-15 and connect west Ogden with the downtown.
After the public hearing, Ogden city and UDOT will prepare a draft environmental assessment.
Individual properties will likely be impacted by the project, but until a preferred alternative is selected and the Federal Highway Administration makes a final decision, those impacts are unknown.
A final decision is expected on the project in November or December.
Comments