5400 S. lanes are changing their way

TAYLORSVILLE — The Utah Department of Transportation has decided to go a different direction with 5400 South.

Or different directions.

UDOT has eyed 5400 South, between Redwood Road and Bangerter Highway, as a prime location for reversible lanes, which will be called "Flex Lanes."

If you've ever driven on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Tappen Zee Bridge outside of New York City, or 16th Street and Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C., then you're familiar with reversible lanes. They're in dozens of cities, actually.

During morning rush hour, reversible lanes lead traffic toward the city. Those same lanes have traffic escaping the city during afternoon rush hour. Electronic signs help drivers keep the directions straight.

UDOT has designed reversible lanes for 5400 South to alleviate congestion in the area. In 1999, 38,500 vehicles per day traveled 5400 South. This year, the road averages 46,000 vehicles a day. By 2030, it will be 68,000 a day, according to UDOT estimates.

There isn't much room to widen the road, as the area between Redwood and Bangerter is mostly developed.

The road is three lanes in each direction, with a center lane that's sometimes a turn lane and sometimes a raised median, said Brandon Weston, Flex Lanes project manager. UDOT is calling the 5400 South lanes "Flex" because unlike traditional reversible lanes that are dedicated lanes that reverse, 5400 South's center turn lane will shift throughout the day.

UDOT is betting its Flex Lanes ultimately will be a low-cost solution to growth in the area.

Construction will cost $5 million, Weston said. UDOT will spend the money on restriping the 5400 South lanes, adding some 18 overhead structures that will have electronic signs hanging over each lane every 500 feet, and moving utilities that are in the places where the signs are slated to go.

Construction begins in spring 2010 and will end in the fall.

The Flex Lanes are part of a larger $43.3 million West-East GO! project to help alleviate congestion on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley. The project includes intersection upgrades on Redwood Road and Bangerter Highway between 4700 South and 6200 South.

UDOT recently polled residents in the area, and 76 percent of them were in favor of reversible lanes.

But for Dan Fazzini, growth is the problem.