By the end of the summer Midway will be a two-stoplight town.
Construction is underway to install a traffic signal at the intersection of Main Street (S.R. 113) and River Road (400 E), Midway’s main access from the north and east.
The work is taking place on weekdays during daytime hours, with occasional Saturday work as needed. Officials said that during construction, motorists should expect reduced speeds, the potential for lane shifts, flagged one-way traffic, closures of River Road with detours, and 5-10 minute delays. Pedestrian access will remain available and two-way travel will continue during non-working hours.
Along with the four-way traffic light, the intersection will gain dedicated turn lanes, crosswalks and bike lanes to improve safety and traffic flow. Curbs and gutters will also be installed.
“It’s been warranted for a while with the traffic demand coming in,” said Wyatt Woolley, UDOT’s region 3 communications manager. “We’ve seen some conflicts at that intersection, I’ve witnessed some myself. Midway has become a bit of a destination place as people want to go down and visit Ballerina Farm and go see the plays and all that stuff they have on Main Street, so we’ve got a lot of pedestrian traffic there as well. It’s something the city has been wanting us to do for a while now.”
UDOT meets with the city of Midway on a quarterly basis and this new stoplight has been in the works for a couple years. The total cost of the tax-funded project is $7.5 million with a targeted completion date in August.
Earlier this year, UDOT installed a crosswalk with blinking yellow signs at Main Street and 100 W to better accommodate downtown pedestrian traffic. Midway received its first traffic light at Main Street and Center in 2017.
“Midway had kind of got this eclectic feel to it where people want to come and want to walk around all over the place and we love for everyone to do that, we just need them to do it safely,” Woolley said. “We don’t want jaywalking. We want them to go to safe intersections with crossings, but it’s difficult to get everyone to do that, so we’re hoping this one will help.”
Construction updates are available at midwaycityut.gov/the-latest/city-projects.