IRON COUNTY, Utah, Dec. 13, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Iron County is receiving $70 million for Interstate 15 improvements from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The county is one of 18 recipients of $645 million in grants nationwide the department announced Tuesday.
“Rural communities face higher rates of roadway deaths and often lack the funding to keep their infrastructure in a state of good repair,” the agency said on social media. “We’re funding 18 transportation projects across the US to improve safety, accessibility, and connectivity in rural areas.”
The Iron County project’s $70,350,785 will construct a northbound climbing lane on I-15 and improve an interchange “from a DDI (diverging diamond interchange) to SPUI (single-point urban interchange) design to improve safety and operations and provide active transportation facilities.”
The project to be administered by the Utah Department of Transportation will improve safety on the segment of I-15 and the interchange as well as use innovative project delivery and financing strategies, according to the press release. “The climbing lanes will facilitate truck movement along a 16-mile uphill grade that has known safety issues.”
The interchange improvements will better connect Cross Hollow Road to S. Main Street and Providence Center Drive (SR-130).
“Rural communities face some of the toughest transportation challenges, yet are often left out of major federal investments, a pattern that we are changing under President Biden’s leadership,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “The grants we are announcing today will make transportation in rural communities better, safer and more reliable.”
