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Jed Boal ReportingAs fast as the Wasatch Front is growing, most road projects are geared towards expansion, but we found a big job that will actually narrow one of Salt Lake City's main arteries.
If you ever drive 7th East during rush hour, you know it carries a lot of cars to and from the heart of the city. Now crews are narrowing a stretch of the eight-lane thoroughfare to beautify the street, calm traffic, and create another transportation option.
Seventh East is practically an inner-city interstate, but it's also a neighborhood street that passes one of our most-popular parks. Last week work crews from the Utah Department of Transportation started work that should serve both roles.
Brent Wilhite, UDOT: “We'll lose a lane of travel in each direction. However, we don't think it will significantly impact traffic."
Here's what they're doing. UDOT took out the old asphalt median from 9th South to 13th South; they'll put in a wider, raised median where the city will plant water-wise trees. Road crews are re-striping the street from 4th South to 21st South, eliminating one lane in each direction.
The lanes being wiped out were used for parking and buses during non-peak hours. Now you will be able to park there and ride your bike there. Further down the road Utah Transit Authority may use the lane for bus rapid transit.
It started as a grass roots project -- figuratively and literally. The area community wanted more plants and less traffic, and got the ball rolling to put in the green median.
UDOT doesn't expect the changes to affect traffic.
Brent Wilhite, UDOT: “We've done time tests from point A to point B basically, and haven't seen any decline in traffic."
By the numbers fewer of us are using 7th East north of 21st South than we did before I-15 construction started in 1997; there's 5-10 percent less traffic today.
As of today, all of the repaving is done, much of the re-striping is done and the project should be complete in August.
