Interstate Construction (Cont'd) February 25, 2007 DREW GODLESKI/Standard-Examiner Traffic passing under the 31st Street bridge in Ogden can see a new mural featuring skiers, ice skaters, snowmobilers and more. I-15NOW on schedule, on budget, UDOT says BY JORDAN MUHLESTEIN Standard-Examiner staff jmuhlestein@standard.net OGDEN Construction on Interstate 15 in Weber County still has a year to go, but drivers can get a taste of the makeover as they drive near the recently completed area near 31st Street. The I-15NOW, or New Ogden Weber, expansion is 60 percent complete, so it is both on schedule and on budget, said Andy Neff, public involvement manager for Utah Department of Transportation Region 1. "We hit a significant milestone with the completion of the 31st Street interchange," he said. "For the most part, the project is substantially complete and open from I-84 in Roy to 24th Street in Ogden." The new interchange offers increased capacity and safety features, including a wider bridge with dual turn lanes for entering the freeway, as well as a new traffic-signal system that uses video cameras and fiber-optic cables to detect traffic and coordinate traffic signals throughout the area, Neff said. "The traffic-monitoring systems send real-time traffic information to our traffic operations center and to our Commuter- Link Web site," he said. The 31st Street bridge, as well as the five other bridges in the project, has been designed to last 75 years, Neff said. The $265 million project is well on its way to a projected fall 2008 completion, he said. Major construction began in early spring 2006. "This is the third-largest design-built project UDOT has ever worked on," he said. 29