Dry Weather Helps I-15 CORE Project

(KCPW News) While this winter’s mild weather hasn’t been kind to skiers, it’s definitely helping out Utah’s largest transportation project. Utah Department of Transportation spokeswoman Tania Mashburn says workers on the I-15 CORE Project, which stretches from Lehi to Spanish Fork, have been able to do a lot of construction that otherwise would have to wait until later in the year.

“We’re also doing some grading and dirt work that we would not have been able to do if there had been a lot of snow,” she says. “The main thing that the nice weather is helping us with is we’re getting prepared for paving in the spring, and when the temperatures go back up, we’ll be getting ready to hit the paving really hard. We’re also doing several bridge demolitions that are going very smoothly because of the nice weather.”

Mashburn adds, however, that it’s still too early to tell if the nice weather will mean the project gets done ahead of schedule.

“We might need these nice days now in case we need to make up for some wet days coming up in the spring. Last summer, for example, there were 20 rainy days in July alone where crews can’t get a lot of work done. So, we’re really trying to take advantage of the nice weather now,” says Mashburn.

The 24-mile I-15 CORE Project began in the spring of 2010 and is expected to be completed this December. When finished, it will widen I-15 by two lanes in each direction and replace 63 aging bridges.