Engineering and planning consultancy Michael Baker International (MBI) has announced completion of the second phase of the Mountain View Corridor project on State Route 85 to the west of Salt Lake City in Utah.
MBI, as part of the Ralph L Wadsworth/Staker Parsons Companies design-build team, served as the lead designer for the second phase of the project, which included the full design and construction of a new greenfield segment of the corridor, including a roadway, structures and a shared-use path, to allow for future growth and mobility in the Salt Lake City metropolitan region.
Depending on funding, the planned third phase of the Mountain View Corridor project will eventually create a 35 mile-long (56km) freeway from I-80 in Salt Lake County to SR 73 in Utah County, including a HOT (high occupancy toll) lane in each direction. The corridor will provide an alternative route to I-15 for commuters and residents.
As one of the Utah Department of Transportation’s (UDOT) top projects of 2017, phase two of the Mountain View Corridor project added 2.5 miles (4km) of greenfield roadway from 5400 South to 4100 South in West Valley City, and included the completion of 14 mainline bridges, seven pedestrian bridges, intersection reconstruction, and safety improvements in impacted areas. The completion of this latest phase of the project focused on forward compatibility to accommodate future build-out of the corridor, and quality design for long-lasting, low-maintenance infrastructure.
The project was recently recognized by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Utah Engineering Excellence Awards, earning a Merit Award in the Transportation category. The next phase of construction to expand the corridor from 4100 South to SR 201 will begin in 2019.
In the meantime, the extension project into Utah County from SR-73 to 2100 North will begin in 2018. Initial construction on the overall project has included two lanes in each direction with signalized intersections, and future phases will build out the remainder of the corridor by converting intersections to interchanges, and adding inside lanes to achieve a fully functional freeway.
“Extending this vital transportation corridor, while maintaining existing east-west connector streets, helps to ensure that the fabric of established neighborhoods remain intact and that residents have easy and safe access to neighborhood schools,” said Mike Arens, executive of Michael Baker’s Salt Lake City office.
“The project demonstrates how ‘We Make a Difference’ by delivering large-scale and complex transportation projects that improve mobility and enhance safety for residents and commuters.”
