After months of planning and some late summer demolition of two buildings and a church, construction is now underway on the new interchange at Bangerter Highway and 4700 South. The project will expand over two years, with a planned completion date in late 2025.

It began with a two-phase closure of most east-west travel on 4700 South on Feb. 16. That weekend and the next, UDOT crews were driving piles into the ground that will house utility relocations at the intersection. Traffic could still use off-ramps and on-ramps at Bangerter during those two weekends. There will be more interruptions at that intersection until all east-west traffic will be stopped starting in June.

“There will be a full 12-month closure of east-west on 4700 South to keep people safe during the construction,” said UDOT spokesman John Gleason. “The idea is to make Bangerter Highway more of a freeway. It is one of the most traveled roadways on the westside of the valley, with about 60,000 vehicles a day on the road. If we can take out those traffic signals and make them freeway-style interchanges, we hope to get motorists to their destinations faster and safer by eliminating those conflict points at stoplights.”

He said similar interchange construction is underway at three other locations on the highway—at 9800 South, 13400 South and at 2700 West. Over the past few years, interchanges from 5400 South to the south end of the valley have been reconstructed to a freeway-type designation.

“We generally try to keep traffic open as long as possible when we’re doing these interchanges,” he said. “We saw an increase in crashes when we were rebuilding the interchange at 11400 South and all lanes remained open, so we looked at what was happening and said we’re never taking chances with the safety of those traveling on the roads. So starting in June, the east-west at 47th  will be stopped for at least a year.”

Gleason said UDOT has done extensive studies on all of the interchanges along Bangerter, rebuilding them over time. The remaining intersections along the roadway up to I-215 will be reconstructed sometime in the future.

Part and parcel with these changes is UDOT’s emphasis on other modes of transportation, including use of mass transit as well as walking and biking trails that are planned for the future.

“Not everyone can or wants to drive,” he said, “so we’re encouraging people to consider alternatives. It’s important that we make smart decisions for the future.”

Drivers should expect delays in the area and can use 4100 South or 5400 South as alternate routes. The Project Team can be reached via the project hotline 888-766-7623 or the project email [email protected]. Visit udot.utah.gov/bangerter4700south for more information. Updates will be posted regularly on progress of the project. λ