Bicycle lanes coming to 500 West

By Bill Hardesty | [email protected]

At the Jan. 27 South Salt Lake City Council work meeting, Dennis Pay, city engineer, and Amalia Andrews from UDOT, presented the 500 West reconstruction project plans for between 3300 South and 3900 South.

Pay explained that 50 years is the average age of pavement. Acceptable maintenance practices extend the life. However, truck traffic beats up the road.

“The last several years we have seen an increase in truck traffic on 500 West, especially in the area north of Fine Drive, which is primarily light industrial uses,” Pay said. “The increase in truck traffic has deteriorated the pavement to a point where normal maintenance is ineffective, and the pavement needs to be reconstructed.”

The city received about $5 million in federal funding to reconstruct the road.

The project

The first item is to improve the intersection of 500 West and 3300 South by adding new lights.

The roadway will have a new surface and will be restriped.

Utilities along 500 West will be updated. Sidewalks, curb and gutter will run along the entire corridor.

The new look

Running from one Maverik store to another, 500 West will have a much more urban look. There are no plans to increase the width of the road.

While the design is subject to change, the current plan is to have two 13-foot vehicle lanes. There will be a 3-foot buffer on each side to protect bicyclists riding in 5-foot bike lanes.

Each side of the road will have a 4 1/2-foot park strip and a 5-foot sidewalk.

Shane Siwik, District 5, whose district contains the project, asked about the current trees along 500 West. 

“Our first priority is to keep them,” Pay said. “If we have to remove them, we will replace them.”

Project timeline

“The project is still in design, so a contractor has not been selected. We do not have a detailed construction schedule or maintenance of traffic plan at this time,” Pay said.

Between now and spring 2022, the design will be finalized, and right-of-way needs will be identified and obtained. Currently, Pay does not believe any property will need to be required. However, construction access might need to be granted. If so, after the project, the property is restored.

“As with any construction, there will be disruptions to normal traffic patterns,” Pay said. “However, in designing the road, we are considering how it can be constructed to minimize disruptions. We will require that the contractor maintain access to properties throughout construction.” 

The start date is scheduled for spring/summer 2022 with a completion date of fall 2022.

Community involvement 

“A public involvement team will be on board to communicate with businesses and help coordinate access issues with those impacted by construction,” Pay said. 

Also, UDOT is starting to reach out for comments and answer questions. Last month, about 300 postcards were mailed to businesses and residents in the project area. The postcards announced the project and gave businesses and residents contact information for questions and concerns. UDOT provided the phone number 855-663-6800 and the email address [email protected] for questions and concerns. They will also use a project website to keep businesses and residents informed. The site is udot.utah.gov/go/500WestSSLC.