LAYTON, Utah — State and local leaders, along with the Utah Department of Transportation, moved plastic barriers and opened up a new interchange along U.S. Highway 89 Tuesday, marking the expansion of the highway’s largest milestone to date.

“You can get off here at Antelope now and go straight out to Antelope Island. It’s a straight shot,” Rep. Steve Handy (R-Layton) explained. “So this is a very important arterial to not only the east side here in Layton, but also to people getting out to the west.”

Last year, UDOT opened similar interchanges at U.S. 89 at 400 North in Fruit Heights and at Oak Hills Drive and Gordon Avenue in Layton. The new interchanges bring with them added access for pedestrians to walk and bike safely over U.S. 89.

“This is a safer solution,” UDOT Executive Director, Carlos Braceras said. “(It) will handle more people, provide better mobility, and actually will accommodate what we call all users so bikers and walkers can now have a safe place to get across the facility as well.”

Layton Mayor Joy Petro added that the interchange and highway expansion as a whole will better accommodate growth in Davis County for decades to come.

“It’s more about connecting our community,” Petro explained. “The last thing I want to do is have any road divide us, and this doesn’t anymore.

Work done on the entire project so far has cost more than $500 million.