Recent ramp openings on I-15 have made the commute easier for most freeway motorists.

But as those new ramps have opened, the freeway has also suffered accidents, confused drivers, and slowdowns in some key areas.

Overall, highway officials believe the changes have improved things. But they're doing a little minor tweaking to help drivers get used to the new traffic patterns.

One of the key areas is the 400 South on ramp. There have been backups nearly a mile long, all the way back to State Street. UDOT is considering eliminating a lane merger, to see if that helps clear the problem.

A second problem area has been on Interstate-80. For the first time in a long time, westbound drivers are not forced to exit at State Street. They can keep going and connect to Northbound I-15.

But, whooaaa! Two lanes exit to State Street, and three westbound freeway lanes suddenly become one. The result: big backups in the morning.

UDOT has now decided better signs are necessary.

Joseph Walker/Utah Dept. of Transportation: "WE WANT TO SEE IF THE SIGNS RELIEVE SOME OF THAT PRESSURE. IF THEY DON'T WE'LL LOOK AND EXPLORE THE OPTION OF MAYBE SHIFTING AND MAKING IT ONLY ONE LANE OFF AT STATE STREET, AND THE TWO LANES ONTO I-80. WE'VE DONE THAT IN SEVERAL PLACES IN THE PROJECT. WHERE THINGS AREN'T WORKING, WE'LL MAKE AN ADJUSTMENT."

UDOT has already changed signs to reduce confusion at a 3rd location-- the recently opened ramp for 7200 South, where the Highway Patrol has reported numerous accidents in the last six weeks.

More tweaking may be done at all three locations if drivers continue to have problems. But UDOT says many drivers seem pleased with the new ramp options.

And police in South Salt Lake are ecstatic. Many more drivers seem to be using the freeway, so congestion on State Street has dropped dramatically. Accidents have ben cut by three-fourths and road rage is way down on State Street.

Det. Dave Browning/South Salt Lake Police Dept.: "THE INSTANCE OF ROAD RAGE IS ALMOST NIL OUT HERE NOW. WE WERE GETTING ONE OR TWO CALLS A WEEK. AND SO FOR EVERY ONE WE WERE CALLED ON, I'M SURE THERE WERE PROBABLY TEN WE WEREN'T CALLED ON. SO, IT'S A NICE CHANGE."

Okay, how about a little more good news? By Thanksgiving, work should be essentially done on two of the major intrerchanges: 7200 South and 106th South.

And if you can hang in for a couple more years, the whole project will be done.

Additional Links

Traffic Link Cameras

I-15 Reconstruction Web Site