Going to BYU game? Stay off 800 North in Orem

OREM — Football fans driving to Brigham Young University's season-opening game today against Arizona should avoid using 800 North in Orem if at all possible and likely will experience heavier-than-normal game-day traffic on University Parkway around State Street.

Construction work on two of the main thoroughfares leading to LaVell Edwards Stadium makes alternate routes more appealing, traffic experts said.

The Utah Department of Transportation actually purchased radio ads to warn motorists to avoid Orem's 800 North, where a major road-widening project will continue for another year. Lanes on the street have been narrowed during the project and left turns are prohibited between 400 West and 800 East.

"The three main connectors from I-15 to BYU games are University Parkway, Orem Center Street and Orem 800 North," UDOT spokesman Geoff Dupaix said. "We're encouraging motorists to utilize 1600 North and Orem Center Street, which gives them a straight shot from I-15 to University Avenue" in Provo.

"Those who take 1600 North to 800 East can bypass most of the work being done on 800 North," Dupaix said.

On University Parkway, Orem is installing a video detection system at all intersections to assist with traffic signaling between 400 West and State Street. The city intended to begin the project earlier, before the football season and the start of school.

"The fact of the matter was the contractor was a little late getting all the required documents in," said Sam Kelly, an Orem city project manager. A message left for the contractor, Hamilton Brothers Electric of Springville, was not immediately returned.

Construction crews are now at the State Street intersection and will move west over the next few weeks. Some of the project may not be completed until next spring because the asphalt the city selected requires warm temperatures.

In addition to the video detection system, the city is widening some intersections such as the one at 400 West, which will have two left-hand-turn lanes to eastbound University Parkway.

Another highlight of the project is a mid-block turn lane between State Street and 200 West near Mimi's Cafe. That work has caused increased congestion for the past week or so, just as students return to Utah Valley State College, where classes started at Aug. 22, and to BYU, where classes begin Tuesday.

Geana Pali, a freshman studying general education, gets caught in the construction as she commutes to UVSC from her home in Provo. Her first class begins at 11 a.m.

"I add 10 minutes," she said.

Courtney Estes, an elementary education student at UVSC, lives across the street from campus. Construction and traffic jams on the way to school are only half of a commuter's problem, she said. Once students arrive on campus, they usually have to circle around the parking lots in a competitive manner in search of a parking spot. That's why she prefers walking to school.

"I think buying a parking permit is a waste of time and money, personally," Estes said.

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com; lhancock@desnews.com