On the road again, at last
The ribbon cutting for the reconstruction of 1000 West on Friday in Logan brought an end to a six-year project for the city, county and state.
“The project out here, it’s been a long time coming,” said Logan Mayor Randy Watts. “It’s taken a lot of hard work, a lot of perseverance.”
The reconstructed 1000 West, now named SR-252 by the state, runs from the junction at U.S Highway 89 to 2500 North.
The project began when the Utah Department of Transportation traded two state roads with the county for 1000 West.
UDOT Spokesperson Vic Saunders said the roads traded, now owned by the county, are state roads 237 and 238. Road 237 starts on 1400 North, goes to 800 North, Hyde Park and ends on U.S. 91. Road 238 starts in Nibley, goes through Millville, Providence, River Heights and ends on Main Street.
Those two roads were traded for 1000 West, which is now owned by UDOT.
“10th West, which is on the south end, got turned over to us,” Saunders said. “And once it did, we saw that improvement needed to be made for it to become the kind of roadway that would really serve the businesses in the area.”
Overall, 322,376 yards of concrete were laid for 31 lane miles. Two lanes were added on each side to make five total, traffic signals were added on 1000 North and 1400 North and pedestrian features were added in residential areas.
Curb, gutter and sidewalk features were also reconstructed, but only in developed areas. Saunders said the unfinished areas will be the responsibility of the developer.
The first step of the process was a study required by the National Environmental Policy Act. The study allowed UDOT to examine habitats, manmade or natural, they would affect in the construction process.
UDOT realized they needed to acquire 17 homes to build the road in the way they wanted. Saunders said relocating those residents and obtaining the homes was a smooth process.
Initial construction began with the first phase in 2010 and ended in 2011. The second phase ran from 2012 to the present.
“We finished a month ahead of schedule and way under budget,” Saunders said. “I think the original budget was $70 million and the budget right now is $60 million.”
When the City of Logan costs are added to the UDOT budget, the total project cost an estimated $72 million.
The hope of UDOT was to make 1000 West a byway, a more effective road for residents to travel on in order to divert traffic from Main Street.
“I grew up in Cache Valley,” Saunders said. “I’ve driven on 10th West my whole life. It was a nice road, but not really useful. Now it’ll be truly useful. It’s wide, it’s safe, it’s designed for higher speeds than you’re going to get on Main Street.”
Construction workers, contractors and city officials echoed the appreciation of the community and businesses involved.
“I know that we’ve affected your business, slowed down the process of trying to make a buck,” Watts said. “But I can truly tell you that I look at this road and for what has happened here, for what you’ve lost through construction, you’ll gain it back tenfold as we move ahead with what the valley has in the future.”
Both construction companies involved, Staker Parson and Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction, said the project was unique because of the cooperation of the communities.
“This was a pretty unique project for us in that the businesses… weren’t against us,” said Brandon Squire from Ralph Wadsworth Construction. “They came together and they helped us. They understood that we needed to come in here, get things done and get out of their hair.”
Though the project was made easier by help and cooperation, Logan city public works director Mark Nielsen said it wasn’t an easy process.
“It was a painful process, it always is,” Nielsen said. “We had some lousy infrastructure in the road. We had a lot of things that needed replaced, and we didn’t have a lot of time in order to prepare and put money aside, so it’s been an interesting process over the last five years.”
Shane Marshall, UDOT deputy director, admired the usefulness of the road to the community.
“It’s a pretty unique facility,” Marshall said. “It’s not just a road. It’s something the community can really get behind. Really, it’s an asset to this community and something that will be an economic driver for this community for many years to come. We didn’t build a road, we built a facility that really can accommodate growth out here.”
Twitter: @daniellekmanley