Layton residents have a chance tonight to tell the Utah Department of Transportation any concerns about a proposal to make the partial interchange onto I-15 at Main Street in Layton into a full interchange.

Currently, the off-ramp is for northbound motorists and the on-ramp is for southbound motorists. About 12,000 cars use the interchange each day. UDOT is beginning a two-year environmental study this week to see what possible changes should be made to the interchange and the surrounding area. The study will cost $1 million, paid for through federal road money.

Alex Jensen, Layton city manager, said the current interchange "certainly seems illogical now" and is "very confusing to people who are from out of the area."

The first in a series of public hearings on the proposal will be held Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. at Layton Elementary School, located at 369 W. Gentile Street.

The meeting will be an open house to familiarize residents with the project, which has not yet been funded, and UDOT's environmental study process. Residents also can send written comments, which will be included in the study.

Andy Neff, spokesman for UDOT's Region One, which covers northern Utah, said the interchange "in the surrounding areas there is heavily congested," and another interchange just to the north, at Hill Field Road, "is currently handling more traffic than it's designed to handle."

About a year ago, UDOT finished an environmental assessment of the area. Layton and UDOT paid for the study, which determined that the state would need to to do further environmental studies of the area before a full interchange could be built.

"This first public meeting is to help identify the transportation need in the area, and once we have those needs identified, move forward with developing solutions," Neff said.

David E. Adams Sr., a Layton resident who lives south of the current interchange, said a new interchange would be "a responsible and desirable type of development" for Layton and those who visit, because it would alleviate traffic congestion.

The study couldn't come too soon for Doug Madsen, who has owned Doug and Emmy's Restaurant for 16 years, located north of the current interchange. The building that houses the restaurant was built in 1912 in another location and has been in its current location since 1960. Because it is a historic building, it would have to be moved again, to a location closer to Gentile Street, if the proposed interchange is built.

That's a favorable choice for Madsen, because he's ready to get out of the restaurant business. "Either Layton or UDOT will have to buy it," he said.

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com; jdougherty@desnews.com