NORTH SALT LAKE -- Travelling on I-15 through southern Davis County should now be a lot easier.
The Utah Department of Transportation announced this week that the EXPRESSLink project in North Salt Lake is substantially complete.
The completion of the project means all Interstate 15 lanes, including a new express lane, are now open from 500 North in Salt Lake to Interstate 215 in Davis County.
UDOT spokesman Adan Carrillo said only two weekend closures of the 2300 North ramps remain before construction on the project is completely finished.
The southbound 2300 North on- and off-ramps will close at 5 a.m. Saturday until 5 a.m. Monday to complete remaining utility work.
The following week, the northbound 2300 North ramps will close at 5 a.m. on Aug. 28 until 5 a.m. Aug. 30.
The $125 million EXPRESSLink project began in November 2008 and is on schedule to finish two months early and within budget, Carrillo said.
The project has increased I-15 capacity in the area by rebuilding 4.3 miles of the interstate, adding express lanes in both directions and replacing bridges at U.S. Highway 89, Beck Street, 1000 North and 800 North (the 1000 North and 800 North bridges were replaced by a single bridge at 1000 North).
Accelerated bridge construction techniques were used to replace the U.S. 89 bridge over I-15. The bridges were built alongside the interstate and moved into place using self-propelled modular transporters.
In addition to Legacy Parkway, express lanes will help ease the commute between Salt Lake and Davis counties. According to UDOT, the average annual daily traffic on I-15 near the I-215 interchange is 146,050 vehicles.
UDOT officials say express lanes will eventually stretch from Utah County to Ogden. Last fall, UDOT completed a $52.3 million, 11-mile stretch from Farmington through Kaysville.
In addition to the work going on with the ExpressLink project, UDOT is currently adding express lanes between the Main Street interchange (Exit 330) and the Layton Hills Mall interchange (Exit 331), coinciding with the south Layton interchange project.
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