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The Utah Department of Transportation on Wednesday officially declared as complete the first section of the massive project to rebuild Interstate 15 in Utah County — a 4.5-mile stretch from Lehi to Pleasant Grove.
"Opening this section of the freeway," said Todd Jensen, project director for UDOT, "is the first of many significant milestones for the I-15 CORE [corridor expansion] project through December as we work to complete the project in an unprecedented 35 months."
That first section included expansion from four lanes in each direction to six, including one car-pool lane. The original asphalt surface was replaced with new 40-year concrete.
Several bridges were also replaced. The American Fork 500 East interchange was reconstructed as a "diverging diamond" to speed traffic by eliminating left-turn signals by having cars drive on the "wrong" side of the road. New electronic signs and traffic-monitoring equipment were also installed.
It is part of a $1.73 billion project to rebuild 26 miles of I-15 between Lehi and Spanish Fork, which UDOT says is now 80 percent complete — and is scheduled to be wrapped up in December.
"We still have a lot of work to do this summer," Jensen said. "At the same time, this first complete segment of the project offers a sneak peek of the economic and transportation benefits the entire project will provide when it is complete."
Areas south of the newly finished section are still facing heavy construction. In Orem, I-15 is now reduced to three lanes. The 800 North interchange is closed through mid-July. Long-term closures are scheduled later this summer at the Orem Center Street and 1600 North interchanges.