Highway 89 construction complete in no. Utah ahead of holiday weekend

LAYTON, Utah — The wait is over in Davis County. The Utah Department of Transportation marked the completion of the U.S. Highway 89 project Friday with a celebration in Layton.

For over 20 years, this project has been in the works. 

UDOT officials said there were challenges along the way, including this past season’s snowfall. But between the public’s input and hard work, they said the wait was worth it.

“Highway 89 has always been a challenge,” said Utah Senate President Stuart Adams.

In this project, there are roughly 12 miles of new, opened road that keeps not only drivers and motorists in mind, but also pedestrians, cyclists and transit.

“We’ve put four new interchanges. We’ve taken out five stoplights. We have six crossings that are grade separated, so people can walk across,” said Rob White, director of UDOT Region One. 

White said they are installing three pedestrian tunnels, so trails can be connected back and forth across the east and west side of U.S. 89.

This project has been in the works for over 20 years! 🚧

In this project, there are roughly 12 miles of new, opened road that keeps not only drivers and motorists in mind, but also pedestrians, cyclists, and transit.

We’re live on @KSL5TV at noon detailing the new road.

— Karah Brackin (@kbontv) June 30, 2023

It is all about efficiency. 

“We’ve added a third lane, so the speeds should increase. People should not see the delays from the traffic lights.”

White said the construction project comes with a dollar sign between $300 and $400 million.

In a state that’s growing fast, this project completion is a game changer. 

“I can also remember Utah when it was a million people in the 70’s. We’re 3.3 million today,” Adams said.

This project, even if it is just five minutes, saves time one cannot get back.

“That’s 10 minutes a day. That’s 50 minutes a week. I mean, it’s really hard to imagine from this spot where we’re standing right now to Snowbasin — 20 minutes. From this spot to downtown — 20 minutes,” Adams said.

Adams said this is not the end of infrastructure projects. He said during the last legislative session, $2 billion were allocated to go to other projects in the state.

Glow up in Davis County on US-89. Today we celebrated the completion of the US-89 project from Farmington to I-84. It adds new lanes on the highway, safe crossings for pedestrians at new interchanges and bridges, and new frontage roads both bicyclists and cars can use. pic.twitter.com/kgsoK5pDFe

— Utah DOT (@UtahDOT) June 30, 2023