Commuters heading through Silver Summit might find the morning drive a bit more bearable in a few weeks.
Traffic concerns have been mounting at the intersection of the southbound off-ramp by the Home Depot exit on U.S. 40 towards Heber City, with cars often lining up into the high-speed roadway throughout the morning rush hour.
Summit County’s Transportation Planning Division has partnered with the Utah Department of Transportation to address the problem, which will involve creating a two-lane roundabout at the intersection of the southbound on and off ramps and Silver Summit Parkway.
However, the installation of the traffic circle is still about nine months out. So county officials will set up trailer signals as a temporary fix in about three weeks.
“What we’re trying to do is alleviate that now with a temporary solution of these lights while we finish the design and possibly during the construction of the roundabout,” said Brandon Brady, the county’s deputy director of transportation planning. “It’s become such a problem that it’s kind of hard to get into that area and it’s become a safety concern when it starts backing up onto [U.S.] 40.”
Development in Promontory and the Silver Creek area has contributed to the congestion as drivers heading to work down U.S. 40 try to turn left at the intersection to get to the other side of the interchange. Brady said the biggest issue is going southbound, which is where the efforts are focused, but the Home Depot side is also on the brink of failure.
The Transportation Department did a study with UDOT last year and developed around 10 alternatives for the site. The ideas were presented to the Summit County Council in the spring, and officials opted to create an estimated $2.5 million roundabout and an underground tunnel that will eventually be used by pedestrians.
The project is currently in the design phase and is expected to go out to bid around January or February 2024. Officials hope to break ground as soon as the snow melts due to the short construction season in Summit County.
Until then, three portable traffic lights at the intersection will help reduce congestion and keep traffic running smoothly in the morning. Brady said it should help empty the queue. The lights will give motorists more time to go through the intersection at times when there might not normally be enough of a break in traffic.
“It’s weird because at random times it’ll get backed up, too,” he said. “You get one person who’s nervous to go left there and it can back up pretty quick.”
The trailer signals will be operating all day, although the timing of the signal changes will differ depending on the time of day. The Transportation Department doesn’t operate any traffic lights — there are no signals on county roads anywhere, only on city and state roads — so the temporary measure will be a first for Summit County. The trailer signals will be kept for future use, too. Brady said officials are working with UDOT to monitor the timing of the lights to ensure they’re working as intended.
The signals are expected to start operating in about three weeks and will remain until the roundabout is in place.
The county’s Transportation Department is also considering putting a roundabout on the Home Depot side. They haven’t started the planning process yet, as they need to acquire funding for the project. Brady said he expected that to start soon.
Eventually, officials want to create a grade-separated trail that crosses U.S. 40 to eliminate conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians. A dead-end trail that stops around the north side of Silver Summit Parkway would be connected to an underground tunnel while a bridge would go over U.S. 40 and connect to the other side.
“Right now there’s no way for pedestrians to get over there, so we’re trying to include that in this. But with the roundabout, we’re just putting in the tunnel. There will be no access to it until we get the right of way and enough money to put a bridge over [U.S.] 40 but we wanted to include it in this project hoping we do,” Brady said.