TAYLORSVILLE — Just six years after the Bangerter Highway was extended from Redwood Road to I-15, the Utah Department of Transportation says it's time to widen the highway's southernmost section.

UDOT Region 2 director Randy Park told the Utah Transportation Commission Friday that Bangerter will be widened from four to six lanes all the way from 11000 South — where the road already has six lanes — through Riverton to the I-15/Bangerter interchange at approximately 13550 South.

The work won't be difficult, Park said. The road surface already is wide enough to accommodate three lanes in each direction. Crews simply will need to re-stripe the roadway.

"I don't expect we'll have much controversy there," Park said of a commissioner's question about whether the project could encounter any environmental problems. "Hopefully, we can do it next summer."

The decision is one of several that have emerged from a $275,000 transportation study of the Riverton area. The commissioners were briefed on the study's conclusions for the first time Friday.

"Riverton realizes this is not just a UDOT project. This is a UDOT-Riverton development project," Park said in response to commission comments about funding.

The Bangerter Highway and 12600 South are the only two state roads in the study area. Park said Riverton will be making improvements to many other streets on its own, and in fact has already relocated a portion of 4000 West near 12600 South.

The study, initiated by the city of Riverton two years ago, was paid for by UDOT ($125,000), Riverton ($125,000) and the Utah Transit Authority ($25,000).

"Hopefully, the study addresses everything we set out to do. We think it does," Park said. "Right now, we're actually in pretty good shape (in the Riverton area). Unfortunately, with the projected (population) numbers, that changes a little bit."

By 2030, for example, UDOT's study shows nine intersections in Riverton (primarily on Bangerter, 12600 South and 2700 West) will be completely dysfunctional during peak traffic hours unless improvements are made before then.

Conclusions of the study include the following:

• 4000 West will need to be relocated farther to the west. The city already is planning that project, Park said.

• A single-point urban interchange (SPUI), like those on the I-15 reconstruction corridor, will need to be built at 13400 South, although that is unlikely to happen for at least 10 years.

• The possibility of building "slip ramps" to connect Bangerter and 3600 West, allowing for limited access between the two roads, was considered but ultimately rejected, Park said.

• Light-rail mass transit would not work well in the Riverton area, in part due to current land-use patterns. "Light rail is not conducive to it," Park said, adding light rail also is an unlikely addition farther north in the south valley portion of the Western Transportation Corridor (approximately 5600 West), which UDOT is currently studying.

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E-mail: zman@desnews.com