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SALT LAKE CITY — The stretch of 1300 East from 2100 South to 3300 South is one of Salt Lake City's more unique roads because it's used in so many different ways, by thousands on a daily basis.
It's both a key gateway for Salt Lake City and Millcreek residents heading onto or exiting Interstate 80 yet also a residential street in many ways for those in the city's Sugar House neighborhood. On top of all that, it's next to a major regional park that draws in runners, bikers and people just looking to take a casual stroll around the area; it's also one of the city's biggest growing commercial areas.
Leading a project to improve this vital section of road is either something planners dream of or fear.
Lynn Jacobs falls in the former category as the city looks to repave and improve the major corridor in the next few years.
"It's a really fun project to work on because of the challenges we have mixing (all its uses)," said Jacobs, a project manager for Salt Lake City. "A lot of people use this road to access the freeway and it's the major access for a lot of Sugar House. So we have a lot of people driving in and out of the Sugar House area and Millcreek area — but we also have all these people who live right-right here, and it's a really cool neighborhood."
Wednesday marked the first day the city began accepting public feedback on actual design concepts as it crafts an environmental and concept study. It celebrated by launching a new website where people can see all the plans and timelines, and submit public feedback. Project supervisors also hosted an open house at Highland Park Elementary in the area.
The project is, in some ways, an extension of construction on 1300 East north of 2100 South that wrapped up last year. City transportation officials circled the area for renovation because the pavement is at the of its life, resulting in potholes and other issues.
But the need to improve 1300 East also gives the city an opportunity to adjust the road to better meet the needs of everyone who uses it. Drivers will still have the same number of lanes to work with — three in each direction between 2100 South and Highland Drive — and two in each direction elsewhere. They will notice a smoother drive through repavement.
Whenever we look at a project like this, we look at how the road is functioning and we look at how its working for all users.
–Lynn Jacobs, a project manager for Salt Lake City
The plan also calls for better bicycle and walking access, especially eastside parts south of Sugar House Park. A mix of shared-use paths, bicycle lane improvements and new bike and pedestrian-friendly intersections are included all throughout the 12 block-stretch.
"Whenever we look at a project like this, we look at how the road is functioning and we look at how it's working for all users — anyone who is driving, walking, biking, taking tranist — and we try to make the road better for everybody," Jacobs said.
Some of the road's transformation will begin sooner than that. The Utah Department of Transportation, in an unrelated project, plans to replace the aging 1300 East bridge over I-80 later this year. UDOT project manager Becky Stromness said earlier this month that the replacement is projected to happen by this fall.
As for the project to improve the road itself, Salt Lake City asked and received about $7.8 million in federal funds to get to work repairing the roadway, which it is scheduled to receive in 2024. The funds don't cover all the way to 3300 South but most of the way, Jacob said. He said that the city will still need to fill in a financial gap the city must figure out, which the city applied for more funding to solve.
However, there is still time to resolve the issue because the project won't begin until the federal funds arrive in spring 2024. Once that happens, construction will move relatively fast due to a stipulation from the funds that all the work must be completed within a year. It won't be as complex as the city's ongoing 300 West configuration, which helps the city reach the one-year goal faster.
"If we get whatever funding we need to go all the way to 33rd (South), then we'll do it at the same time," Jacobs said. "If we're unable to acquire that funding in time, then we will have a gap down at the southern end (of the city) that we won't be able to construct with our project, and we will have to come back in the future ... to fill in that gap."
The final environmental and concept study is expected to be completed by the end of the summer; the timeline notes contractors aren't something the city won't advertise to until fall 2023. Residents can provide public comment on the proposed designs either through the city's website, through email at info@1300eastslc.com or by calling 844-567-8839.
