Traffic Switch Planned for American Fork Main Street

Beginning Monday, Nov. 30, traffic will be switched from the north side of Main Street to the new pavement that has been poured on the south side of Main Street. This will allow traffic to flow on to the new Main Street bridge, which was moved into place last month. There will still be only one lane of traffic flowing in each direction, as has been the case for the past several months during construction in the area, but there will now be a new light signal regulating traffic at Kawakami Drive.

For the most part, business access will be maintained in the area. There will be barrier placed along the north side of Main Street from U.S. 89 to the interchange. Signs will be placed identifying the business access points. This configuration will be in place until Aug. 2010, when the new Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) is ready to open.

As part of this traffic switch, it will be necessary to make some changes to two of the I-15 ramps associated with the American Fork Main Street interchange. This will require closures for these ramps the night of Wednesday, Dec. 2. The northbound on-ramp and the southbound off-ramp will close at approximately 8 p.m. and reopen by 7 a.m. the following morning. During this closure, motorists will need to use the Lehi Main Street interchange (Exit 279) or 500 East in American Fork (Exit 276) as alternative routes.

Additionally, motorists connecting to northbound I-15 from areas west of the interchange will need to use Lehi Main Street beginning Monday Nov. 30 to Thursday, Dec. 3, for construction of the new on-ramp.

With Main Street traffic traveling on the new bridge, construction crews will prepare to demolish the existing bridge. The bridge is currently scheduled to be demolished in one night, beginning the evening of Dec. 5 and concluding the morning of Dec. 6. In order to safely demolish the bridge it will be necessary to close I-15 underneath the bridge. Freeway traffic will be diverted over the on- and off-ramps beginning Dec. 5 at 10 p.m. and concluding Dec. 6 at 9:30 a.m.

Construction of the north DDI bridge will begin once the existing bridge has been demolished.

            Work on the American Fork Main Street freeway bridge is part of both the Pioneer Crossing road project and the I-15 CORE reconstruction project. The DDI is scheduled for completion in late summer 2010.

            For more information about Pioneer Crossing please visit the project Web site at www.udot.utah.gov/pioneer or call the project information hotline at 1-877-222-3757.