Working as a real estate agent in Utah Valley forces Kathy Patty to do a lot of driving.

And that means dealing with construction on I-15.

"It's been a pain in the neck," she said.

Even when Patty isn't chauffeuring prospective clients from one property to the next, getting from her home in Lehi to her office in American Fork can be problematic — and not just during rush hour.

On April 2, the Utah Department of Transportation resumed paving operations on the carpool connection project in Utah County. Since then, motorists have been gripping their steering wheels with crossed fingers, hoping crews aren't working between them and their respective destinations.

"It's slower, but I've come to expect it being slow," said Joshua Tanner, who lives in Provo and works in American Fork.

Patty said she prefers not to gamble and avoids the orange barrel-lined freeway whenever possible.

"I can get (to work) faster by using State Street and back roads," she said.

The good news for Patty, Tanner and other Utah County motorists is the project is ahead of schedule and daytime lane restrictions soon will be lifted and moved to nighttime hours.

The work has restricted lanes at various locations in each direction between the Alpine interchange and University Parkway in Orem during the off-peak hours of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Most recently that work has been focused at bridge locations in Orem — 400 North, Center Street and 400 South.

Although the work has stopped by 3 p.m., motorists have complained that afternoon gridlock created by the lane restrictions often hasn't cleared up by the time the evening rush hour begins.

"That always poses a challenge," said Geoff Dupaix, a UDOT spokesman.

Dupaix said UDOT decided in favor of the daytime spring paving in part because a telephone survey indicated Utah County motorists were in support of the work.

Sixty-four percent of those polled by Dan Jones & Associates said they favored having a lane closed on I-15 during the day — outside of rush hour — if it meant the project would be completed sooner.

In the October 2005 survey, 424 residents who drive through the construction corridor were interviewed. The poll has a 5 percent margin of error.

The daytime work is one of the reasons the project is ahead of schedule, Dupaix said. The project is expected to be "substantially complete" by June 1, he said.

"We are in the home stretch," Dupaix said.

The daytime work is scheduled to continue this week in Orem and Lehi. If the weather cooperates and overnight temperatures are warm enough, the majority of the paving operations will move to between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. beginning April 23.

"There could be times when (crews) still have to pave during the day (after April 23)," Dupaix said.

Michelle Ludlow of Provo said she'll be glad when the daytime lane restrictions are lifted — and even more so when the carpool connection project is complete.

When the Utah County segment is finished, there will be 40 miles of continuous carpool lanes between University Parkway and 600 North in Salt Lake City.

"The carpool lane is a smart idea," Ludlow said. "I'm glad they decided to do it down here."

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E-mail: jpage@desnews.com