March 8, 2023
On Tuesday, March 7, 2023, Spanish Fork City released episode 1 of the Road Show, highlighting a number of projects that will take place during 2023 to help alleviate some of the traffic issues in town. If you don’t get a chance to watch the video, which can be found on our SF17 Youtube Page, or if you need a refresher on the video - here’s a written recap of the first episode:
Public Information Officer Nick Porter sat down with Public Works Director Chris Thompson, Engineering Division Manager Jered Johnson, and Traffic Engineer Dillon Muirbrook to discuss traffic relief projects that will take place during the 2023 construction year.
Follow along the episode 1 graphics/slides here. (or copy and paste: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t2BlBzT043m7HJnYDBTN5iPiucadh5bK/view?usp=sharing)
The discussion started with the highly-anticipated connection of Spanish Fork Parkway across the railroad tracks to the hospital and Lowe’s commercial area. Chris explained that the city has been working with Union Pacific Railroad for several years on this project and an agreement was reached last year to get the crossing constructed. We are now waiting for Union Pacific to get materials on site and begin construction of the actual RR Crossing which should be this summer. The road and utilities leading up to the crossing are currently under construction and once the connection to Highway 51 is complete, UDOT will install a traffic signal.
This connection provides much needed access for the Legacy Farms area, and other east-bench areas to the Canyon Creek retail and hospital area.
Part of the agreement from Union Pacific is that in order to open a new crossing over the railroad tracks at SF Parkway, the City has to close three other crossings. The three crossings that will be closed are at 3400 E & US-89, near 980 N and Haywain Drive, and Canyon Creek Parkway with the relocation of the Tintic RR.
In the video, Jered shared that Spanish Fork City is working with UDOT, Utah County, and Mapleton City to get the 3400 E US-89 crossing closed in April.
The biggest project that was discussed is UDOT’s plan to widen US-6 (slide 7 in the pdf). In conjunction with the widening, the City has a number of projects that have already began construction.
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A traffic signal at 800 N and Expressway Lane (the entrance to Target). This project includes widening Expressway Lane to have dual lefts, dual throughs and a right-only onto US-6.
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A traffic signal at Expressway Lane and Marketplace Drive. With the connection of US-6 and the other improvements and new businesses, we expect this intersection to be more heavily used.
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A dedicated right turn at 800 N 800 E. In April, crews will adjust the lanes on 800 N to provide a right-only lane so drivers aren’t cutting through the businesses on the corner.
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Widening of 1000 N at US-6. In order to get traffic where they want to go (onto US-6 and I-15 or across US-6), 1000 N will have two dedicated left turn lanes and two through lanes later this year. The City has purchased right of way along 1000 N to start widening lanes at 500 E as well as construct a sidewalk on the south side of 1000 N. With the large median (green line on slide 12), there will no longer be a left turn onto 1000 N from 600 E. Those wishing to turn onto southbound 1000 N will need to go to 400 E.
Along 800 N, the designs for two traffic signals at 400 E and 200 E were shown. Similar to the traffic signal at 400 E 1000 N, this light will have “split-phasing,” meaning the straight and left-hand turn movements will be from the same lane.
Dillon mentioned that a light has been "warranted" (i.e. justified by traffic counts and safety) at the 400 E intersection for some time and we’re excited to add the signals and improve the safety of this intersection.
We anticipate constructing both signals this summer, starting with 800 N 400 E.
Two other signals were introduced on Center St. at 630 W and 800 E.
The 630 W Center St. signal basically becomes the front door to the new Spanish Fork High School and will be put in this summer. 630 W will also be widened into a 5-lane road in anticipation of an I-15 Center Street interchange in the next 5-10 years.
The traffic signal at 800 E Center St. will include widening southbound 800 E to have a right, thru, and left turn (see slide 18) and make it safer to cross 5 lanes of traffic. Additionally, a number of pedestrian improvements will be made to make this intersection ADA accessible, including a ramp on the southeast corner.
We all know Main St. is chalked full of cars all throughout the day, but especially in the mornings and evenings. One of the ways to get traffic off of Main St. is to improve some of the north-south corridors in the City. One of those corridors is 300 W, and we plan to construct a roundabout this summer at 400 N 300 W to continue to make this a more appealing alternative to Main St., and a safer alternative for pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
The intersection of 400 N 300 W has a blind corner (see slide 22) which makes a roundabout a great solution to slow traffic down while still providing continuous flow (you can read more on our website about the advantages of roundabouts).
The final project discussed was a new connection to US-6 at 2000 E. Although the physical connection won’t be made for a couple of years, phases are already in the works to make this project happen. This year, the phase that will be completed is a light on Canyon Rd. and 2300 E. Although Canyon Rd. is a UDOT road, the City has offered to build the signal on UDOT’s behalf which allows us to accelerate the timeline of the project.