Amazon facility taking shape in Marriott-Slaterville spurs traffic debate, concerns
Pioneer Road near the southbound on- and off-ramps to Interstate 15 in Marriott-Slaterville is pictured Friday, May 14, 2021. The area could become a congestion hot spot with growth and traffic from the Amazon facility taking shape just to the east, past the I-15 overpass.
the site of a new warehouse to be used by Amazon that's taking shape off the northeast corner of Interstate 15 and Pioneer Road is pictured Friday, May 14, 2021. The area could become a congestion hotspot with growth and traffic from the Amazon facility.
The site of a new warehouse to be used by Amazon that's taking shape off the northeast corner of Interstate 15 and Pioneer Road is pictured Friday, May 14, 2021, from the back end of the location.
MARRIOTT-SLATERVILLE — The impact caused by the Amazon warehouse taking shape in Marriott-Slaterville may not be as innocuous as officials involved with the project have indicated.
Gardner Batt, the developer of the warehouse to be used by the retail giant, has minimized potential congestion issues stemming from the operation, expected to generate heavy in-and-out traffic by workers and delivery drivers. Even so, a consultant is recommending significant road upgrades to address the specter of growing traffic, warning that increased congestion on the roads around the facility is possible as traffic goes up.
Similarly, Marriott-Slaterville City Attorney Bill Morris says traffic issues have already started to emerge near the site, at the intersection of Interstate 15 and Pioneer Road, also called 400 North. Indeed, city leaders have been in on-and-off communication with Utah Department of Transportation officials over the years to get the matter on their radar screen. The fix, part of it anyway, could cost $18 million or more.
Image supplied, City of Marriott-Slaterville
This map, prepared by Hales Engineering and supplied to the City of Marriott-Slaterville, shows the area where a new Amazon warehouse is taking shape off the northeast corner of Interstate 15 and Pioneer Road. The facility would likely impact traffic on Pioneer Road and 2000 West as well as southbound traffic entering and exiting I-15.
“It’ll get congested. It’s already getting congested there between 4 and 6 (p.m.),” said Morris, alluding to the area where Pioneer meets the southbound I-15 on- and off-ramps, just west of the warehouse site. “It’s just going to continue to get worse.”
Gardner Batt, which is based in Salt Lake City, is building the warehouse in what was an undeveloped field on the northeast corner of Pioneer Road and I-15. Amazon will lease it once complete and use it as a delivery center for goods bound for Weber County-area customers, employing perhaps 500 people. An estimated 1,608 vehicles will enter or exit the facility each weekday, according to a traffic study sought by Gardner Batt and completed by Lehi-based Hales Engineering, and anticipated traffic has been a major discussion point in Marriott-Slaterville as the plans have progressed.
Amazon reps say they hope to start operating out of the new building, to measure some 180,000 square feet, by early next year.
Gardner Batt and its representatives have emphasized that most of the many delivery trucks leaving the facility each day will do so at non-peak hours, minimizing congestion problems. But still, the Jan. 16 study by Hales Engineering estimates that 414 of the 1,608 trips in and out of the facility, 25.7% of them, will occur during peak hours, 342 during the top morning travel time, 7:15-8:15 a.m., and 72 during the afternoon rush hour, 4:30-5:30 p.m. That new traffic taken together with existing traffic and other expected increases in the years to come will likely exacerbate congestion issues where I-15 crosses Pioneer Road and further west to 2000 West, an adjacent north-south arterial.
As such, Hales Engineering recommends in its report a major reconfiguration of the I-15-400 North intersection to better accommodate traffic, converting the interchange to what’s called a single-point urban interchange, or SPUI. Otherwise, the report warns of a “poor” level of service where Pioneer Road meets the southbound I-15 on- and off-ramps during morning and evening peak traffic times. It also warns of “significant queuing” during the evening rush hour at the Pioneer Road-2000 West intersection.
Another consultant that reviewed Hales Engineering’s report, Langan, an engineering consulting firm from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, echoes the recommendation. A SPUI, says Langan, would be the “most effective improvement.” Like Hales, Langan also calls for widening of 2000 West to five lanes on the approach to Pioneer Road.
“No additional mitigation is identified to accommodate the anticipated development. However, ongoing discussions will be necessary with UDOT to accelerate the above-referenced improvements for efficient operations at the study locations,” reads Langan’s report.
Morris said city officials have lobbied UDOT over the years to reconfigure the I-15 interchange, to implement an SPUI design. The area, he said, generates a lot of traffic — from nearby schools, Venture Academy and Venture High School, and from the Internal Revenue Service facility to the south along nearby 1200 West. An SPUI, used elsewhere along the I-15 corridor, would better manage traffic flow on and off of I-15, reducing congestion and minimizing conflicting issues with 2000 West traffic. SPUI designs rely on a single light to control traffic entering and leaving controlled-access roadways like I-15.
Thing is, the change would require a major reworking of the intersection, necessitating lots of money, and funding hasn’t been earmarked for such an upgrade.
’A MAJOR RECONFIGURATION'
The crossing has been identified by the Wasatch Front Regional Council, or WFRC, as needing future attention, Hales Engineering notes. But no solid plans have emerged and WFRC estimates the improvement would cost $18 million, “which suggests a major reconfiguration,” Hales Engineering said. The $18 million figure reflects 2019 costs while the phased cost for the intersection upgrade, the cost of upgrades in stages, would be $49.9 million, according to the WFRC. The WFRC works with local government officials along the Wasatch Front to aid with long-term planning related to growth.
UDOT officials, for their part, don’t foresee the need for immediate change, particularly since Amazon would take steps to minimize traffic to and from the facility during rush hours. In particular, roads officials looked into the notion of placing a traffic light where the southbound on- and off-ramps for I-15 meet Pioneer Road, where potential congestion issues are most likely.
“Our engineers ran several models to account for the expected increase and future growth in the area,” UDOT spokesperson Zach Whitney said in an email. “Based on those traffic counts and the fact that Amazon’s shift schedule would not coincide with those peak hours, the conditions did not warrant the placement of a signal. So, there is not anything planned currently.”
That doesn’t mean that’s the end of the matter. “Should those conditions change after the Amazon warehouse is in place, UDOT would re-study the area,” Whitney went on. “That would typically be done if the city noticed a change or worsening conditions.”
Long-term, maybe in 20 years, change further to the east could add to the pressures on the Pioneer Road-I-15 intersection. According to the WFRC 2040 Regional Transportation Plan, North Street, which separates Ogden and Harrisville and links the Harrisville Deseret Industry and Walmart stores, is eventually to be extended to the west into Business Depot Ogden. Thus, it would tie into 400 North and create a new connection for the Harrisville and Ogden area into I-15 further west.
“This connection will create a corridor that ties the (Deseret Industry and Walmart) commercial area around this project to the BDO and I-15,” reads an agreement approved last month by Weber County commissioners earmarking $330,000 for preliminary right-of-way acquisition costs.
Morris says there’s still time to start tackling the looming traffic issues. He plans to keep up his efforts to get UDOT to pay heed to the issue. “We keep banging the drum and hoping to be heard,” Morris said.