Provo, Orem officials concerned about I-15 rebuild

PROVO (Daily Herald) -- Interstate 15 is on the cusp of being rebuilt in Utah County, and the city that has been working on achieving this for years now has a number of concerns about how it is being done.

Provo Chief Administrative Officer Wayne Parker said the environmental impact study that was presented about two years ago showed the S-curves between the Provo Center Street and University Parkway exits straightened out, which city officials liked, as those S-curves provided a more dangerous roadway.

However, the design that has been accepted showed that UDOT could meet the federal design standards for 65-mph traffic by flattening those curves only slightly and widening the shoulders, and in the process save about $12 million, he said. The total cost of the project is $1.725 billion.

"Our view is that they could do more for very little money in the process of the whole project," Parker said, adding city officials continue to express concern but cannot do much more than that. "It is their freeway."

From October 2000 to October 2009, there have been 1,539 accidents on that stretch, according to records from the Utah Highway Patrol. Provo and Orem emergency crews respond to accidents on the freeway as needed, along with UHP.

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