SALT LAKE CITY — Drivers will get to test out some of the newly rebuilt pavement on I-215 West beginning this weekend, as a massive project to overhaul the freeway along the west side of Salt Lake City reaches its halfway point.
Utah Department of Transportation crews will shift I-215 West traffic onto the new pavement between state Route 201 and I-80 beginning Friday night. It will result in some overnight lane closures amid shifting traffic patterns, but everything should run more smoothly by Saturday, UDOT officials said.
"By shifting traffic to one side of I-215, we were able to give crews the space they needed to work safely and efficiently while keeping the freeway open. As drivers move onto the new pavement, we ask them to slow down and stay alert because this remains an active work zone," said Robert Stewart, director of UDOT Region 2.
Motorists have been on the old pavement on the east side of I-215 while crews have worked on the west side of the freeway since November, working to improve bridges throughout the corridor. A ramp connecting southbound I-215 to westbound state Route 201 is expected to reopen this weekend, as well, but ramps connecting westbound I-80 to southbound I-215 and Redwood Road to northbound I-215 will remain closed.
Since the project began last year, 13 bridges have been repaired of the 30 bridges slated for repairs or bridge deck replacements. The $190 million project calls for the repavement and repairs to a 3-mile section of I-215 while repairing 14 miles worth of ramps at I-80, S.R. 201 and California Avenue. UDOT also planned to add a new drainage system within the area.
The project remains on track to be completed by the end of summer 2027, state transportation officials added on Friday.
