SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — Drivers in the southwestern portion of Salt Lake County are preparing for even more long-term traffic headaches to become the norm after this weekend as the Utah Department of Transportation gets set to close 10400 South to east-west traffic across Bangerter Highway in South Jordan on Sunday, May 2.
It’s part of the ongoing Bangerter expansion project that has been replacing four-way intersections with new overpasses and exit ramps on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley.
South Jordan traffic to face major closure
UDOT resident engineer Mackenzie Smith says that Bangerter itself won’t be closing for this portion of the project, just the east and westbound traffic that would normally cross it.
“We’re going to eliminate the stop light. Traffic will be in a free-flow condition going north and south along Bangerter Highway,” Smith said.
Drivers can turn right onto Bangerter from 10400 South, but nobody will be able to make a left turn from the highway onto 10400 for the duration of the work. When finished, it should resemble the 11400 South rebuild from a few years ago; Bangerter traffic will go under the east-west lanes on 10400 South in South Jordan when work wraps up.
What this means is that drivers heading south on Bangerter from West Jordan who want to access the east side shopping centers, including the Costco and Walmart, will need to navigate a new way to get there. The same is also true for traffic on the northbound side of Bangerter in South Jordan, specifically drivers who want to turn west into Daybreak.
“Detour routes mainly are going to take people to 98th South or 114th South,” Smith said. “We’re just asking drivers to follow the detour routes and signage.”
South Jordan closure to last six months
The east-west closure is expected to last about six months, but it will compound existing delays in the area. Similar restrictions began at 12600 South and Bangerter in Riverton a few months ago. Drivers won’t know exactly what kind of impact the restrictions will have on their travel times until Monday morning and afternoon as residents, particularly in the Daybreak community, try their new routes for the first time.
Smith says she and the rest of her team aren’t ignorant of how people feel about this.
“We understand [construction] is impactful.”
But despite the frustrations and potential increased time spent getting around the restrictions, people will eventually adjust to the inconvenience and Smith believes they’ll be happy with the end result–which, somewhat ironically, will be reduced travel times in the future. When crews finish the 10400 South project, she says drivers heading north and south on Bangerter won’t see a single stop light for miles.
“You will be in a free-flow condition from 9800 South to 134th.”
