Reader comments
Utah County I-15 corridor project set to begin in 2010

Bubba | 5:59 a.m. Aug. 27, 2008

What makes this the most costly project in state history? I thought that the I-15 Reconstruction in Salt Lake City was on the order of $3.5 B... Is it the amount of money that the state is putting forward versus the amount from the feds?

lowonoil | 7:03 a.m. Aug. 27, 2008

I would be willing to bet an ounce of gold or the cash equivalent (to be paid to the charity of the challenger's choice) that the vehicle miles traveled on this stretch of highway will be be lower on the first full calendar year after it is completed than it is in 2008.

We are entering an energy crisis far worse than most people realize, and we will be forced by economics and/or public policy to use our cars as transportation of last resort rather than first resort. Ask your oldest lucid relative what it was like to get around in WW2. It will be at least that bad.
The money spent to expand I-15 will ultimately prove to be money wasted. We should focus on maintaining what we have already.

$1.6B | 7:30 a.m. Aug. 27, 2008

The project in SL County was actually $1.6 billion. Utah county is a longer stretch of reconstruction as well.

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SLCEng | 7:54 a.m. Aug. 27, 2008

I believe the I-15 project in SLC was about 1.5 billion. Construction prices have gone up about 200 percent since then according to one news story I saw a few weeks ago. So I'm sure if they were doing the same project in Salt Lake City today, it would probably cost close to $3 billion as well.

RE: lowonoil | 8:41 a.m. Aug. 27, 2008

I'll bet lowonoil lives in Salt Lake Valley...he's already got his road built and thus assumes that no further roadwork is necessary.

BTW, Commuter Rail is already underway on the SLC - Provo stretch. If that's finished as the I-15 work gets seriously messy, and if gas prices remain high (which they will) then people will use that alternative, get used to it, the price, the convenience, and will stick with it even when the road work is finished.

lowonoil | 9:48 a.m. Aug. 27, 2008

No, I don't live in the Salt Lake Valley. I live in Davis County, 3.5 miles from my place of employment and I walk there most days. I believe that the practice of living near the places you need or want to go that has been so unfashionable in the last 50 years, is on the verge of a giant comeback. We are in the twilight years of our car culture but most don't know it yet.
It will become quite clear in a very few years from now that our existing road system is more than adequate for the few of us that can still afford to use it.

who cares | 10:43 a.m. Aug. 27, 2008

Who cares which project costs more! we're finally getting relief (ugh in 2010) for Provo / Utah county! It will be nice to not have congestion like we do! Thanks UDOT!

Congrats | 10:57 a.m. Aug. 27, 2008

I would like to congratulate lowonoil for being able to walk to work. You should consider yourself lucky.

Most of us are not lucky enough to find a good job so close to home. We work where we can find a good job. Selling my house and moving everytime the company I work for lays me off due to downsizing or a merger, or when my company moves our office to a different location, makes zero sense. Therefore, I drive to work. Sorry- these corporate decisions are not mine. I just have to deal with them. And I really don't care what unreasonable environmental extremists think about it.

Anonymous | 11:32 a.m. Aug. 27, 2008

They should add at least 2 lanes to each side instead of 1 to each side. Also, we are not "heading for an energy crisis." The oil & gas market is going through a cycle. Completely normal.

lowonoil | 2:57 p.m. Aug. 27, 2008

Anonymous 11:32 said "Also, we are not "heading for an energy crisis." The oil & gas market is going through a cycle. Completely normal."

My offer to bet is completely serious. Would you care to accept it?

Congrats 10:57 - It won't matter what "environmental extremists" think. Soon we will be unable to produce cheap fuel in massive quantities no matter what environmental price we are willing to pay. It's called depletion. We may eventually be producing a relative trickle from oil shale, but at a price that will only permit the rich to continue the habit of commuting in single occupant vehicles.
If you are not able to secure stable employment, perhaps it is the concept of owning a house that makes zero sense. Home ownership is oversold and overrated in this country.

VOR | 4:35 p.m. Aug. 27, 2008

great, zoobies can zoom down the I-15 at break-neck speeds and only be 20 mins late for the byu game. Wow.

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