Startup work on the new highway intended to ease congestion at the state Route 36 interchange with Interstate 80 is expected to begin this week, according to Utah Department of Transportation.
Equipment and machinery should be moving into the area of the Midvalley Highway by the end of the week, according to a Facebook post from UDOT on Monday morning. The future state Route 179 will connect with I-80 at approximately milepost 94, with the first phase connecting to state Route 138 near Sheep Lane.
The equipment should be moving earth by Sept. 25, according to the post. The fill dirt placed at the site of the new overpass will need to settle through 2020, with most new construction work in 2021, according to UDOT.
Ames Construction of West Valley City was awarded the construction contract for the $74.4 million project. The total cost includes the environmental evaluation, design and construction.
The initial phase of construction will create the interchange and 4.5 miles of single lane roadway in each direction, according to UDOT. A new intersection at Sheep Lane will also be constructed as part of the Midvalley Highway project.
The early concepts for the Midvalley Highway’s second and third phases would run through Tooele Valley, with a possible end point on the south end of Tooele City.
The road is expected to provide a long-term transportation solution that can scale as capacity dictates and funding is available, according to UDOT. The new highway, which connects to SR-138 west of Stansbury Park, is also intended to provide better access to I-80.
The Midvalley Highway has been in the works for several years, with the project funding approved by the State Transportation Commission in May 2017. Tooele County partnered with UDOT and the Federal Highway Administration to start a $4 million environmental impact study a decade earlier, which was completed in 2011.
The County also purchased 222 acres for $1.8 million for the right-of-way for the highway’s initial phase in December 2016. The purchase was made with corridor preservation fees, which are collected from vehicle registration fees and can only be used for new transportation projects.