Gridlock looming

SANDY — At rush hour each day, some Sandy streets morph into gridlocked parking lots.

And with dire projections for traffic influx in Salt Lake County's south valley, Sandy city leaders and state transportation officials are teaming up to conquer the congestion conundrum.

"If you think it's bad today, just wait a few years," said Sam Klemm, spokesman for the Wasatch Front Regional Council. "In about 5-8 years, we're going to hit a tipping point where larger parts of the system are going to begin to fail."

Estimates by the Regional Council show vehicle miles traveled increasing two times as fast as the population. Without highway improvements and more funding, Klemm said residents could be facing a 42-minute drive from Salt Lake City to Sandy.

"In the '90s, we had 50 percent growth in travel demand and only 12 percent new highway capacity," he said. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out you can't do that very long."

Starting this fall, Sandy residents will begin seeing the impacts of an effort to stave off that road failure as the south valley's population continues to grow. One of the major projects will focus on widening a portion of State Street between 90th South and 106th South.

Beginning in the fall of 2006 and continuing for about 12 months, State Street will be restricted to two lanes in each direction to accommodate the construction. The $21.2 million project will eventually widen the roadway to five lanes with shoulders that could be used to further widen the road to seven lanes in the future.

Nick Duerksen, planning and zoning spokesman for Sandy, said the stretch of State Street had teetered on the edge of the failing category for quite some time.

"This is going to provide a safer way of getting in and out of commercial establishments and it will also do a better job of controlling traffic congestion as people make left-hand turns," he said.

The widening of State will also include a revamping of the road's curb and gutter system, as well as an extension of sidewalks and crosswalks along the 16-block corridor.

Tom Hudachko, Utah Department of Transportation spokesman, said widening the main corridor cutting through Sandy will particularly relieve traffic congestion near the Southtowne Mall at 10400 South.

"There's more and more traffic down there. You've got the high school right there, a TRAX station and I-15 ramps," he said. "The road gets used quite a bit and certainly the area will continue to grow in the future."