This July UDOT approved $4 million to widen Parrish Lane's railroad bridge, located west of I-15, as well as another $4 million to widen Parrish Lane between I-15 and Legacy to four lanes instead of their current two.
Though that initial approval placed both projects on the 2011 budget, UDOT officials have recently decided to juggle funds and begin preliminary engineering work as soon as possible. They expect to start construction early 2008, and hope to have it completed by the time Legacy opens in October of that year.
"We don't want to have to account for all the Legacy traffic and have to help it get through the construction zone," said Dave Adamson, the UDOT project manager assigned to the project. "The time frame on this is nearly impossible, but we're going to try to get it done in time,"
"If nothing else, we'll be nearly complete when Legacy opens."
The possibility of widening the railroad bridge has been a hope of Centerville officials long before work began on the Parrish Interchange, which is scheduled to be complete this August. This May it was included on the draft copy of UDOT's STIP (Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan), which was the document approved during the transportation commission's July meeting.
The idea to widen Parrish Lane itself was a later addition, based on discussion between Centerville City and UDOT that the current street's single lane in each direction would create a massive bottleneck between I-15 and Legacy.
"This is exciting news for the community," said Centerville City Manager Steve Thacker. City officials have been concerned about the project's schedule for the past several months.
"We really have to hand it to UDOT that they stepped up and got funding for this. We appreciate it immensely."
As a good faith gesture Centerville officials have previously committed funds to go toward preliminary work on the project, which the city still plans to make available to UDOT.
All totalled, UDOT has committed $12 million dollars for widening and improvement projects on Parrish Lane.
jwardell@davisclipper.com
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