TRANSPORTATION On August 13, 2008, in The Standard Examiner, UDOT announced that the I-15 construction project from 31st Street to 2700 North in Farr West, was nearly finished-three months ahead of schedule, and under budget! A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Friday, August 15, 2008, for the completed newly reconstructed I-15. Just when we thought we were to be free for a while from orange cones, the announced 12th Street project assures us that we will still have plenty of them in our future. In November, Mike Pepper, coordinator for the 12th Street Reconstruction, gave a slide presentation of the project. UDOT projects will include utility work reconstruction of 12th Street from I-15 to Washington Blvd. UDOT is reconstructing 12th Street from I-15 to Wall Avenue. The UDOT utility work and reconstruction of 12TH Street from i-15 to Washington Blvd. will not be completed until mid-2009. Significant construction will be starting soon with curb, gutter, sidewalk and storm drainage being part of the project. A storm drain along 1200 West will also be installed. Scott VanLeeuwen said UDOT will begin on the 12th Street reconstruction on October 20.. A part of the UDOT project of reconstructing 12th Street was our city installing a 27" storm drain for about 1200 feet on 1200 West (to 800 South). UDOT contributed $92,500.00 to the project; Weber County contributed $60,300.00, and the city funded the remainder. Scott VanLeeuwen is appreciated for the time he spent meeting with UDOT on the 12th Street reconstruction, which resulted in getting the money from them for the storm water line on 1200 West. Jones and Associates performed the engineering work for the drain, and sent out bids for the project. The bid opening was on June 17, 2008. Brent Slater, of Jones and Associates, presented the bid opening report to the council, listing the amounts from low to high. He indicated they reviewed all the bids and found no errors. Based upon the information and recommendation of Jones and Associates, the council awarded the contract to Leon Poulsen Construction, as the low bidder. Poulsen Construction encountered several unexpected problems in working on the storm drain. Unidentified sewer laterals and fiber optic lines delayed the project, but it has been completed. Another project adding to the proliferating orange cones (do they reproduce at night?) was the replacement of the Bona Vista water line on 400 North. As it went past the city office, all who had occasion to work or enter there were glad to see its completion. Three studies concerning 400 North in our city were undertaken. The expenditure of $5,850.00 for consulting engineers Caldwell, Richards, and Sorensen, to prepare a pavement analysis on 400 North and prepare the transportation element of the general plan was approved in April. They provided an opinion of the road pattern master plan for important local roads within the city boundaries and delivered a map showing the schematic format of existing and proposed roads, with cross sections for each type of road. President Dennis Illum felt 400 North needs maintenance, and the evaluation of the road surface, with recommendations by an engineer, is the best way for the administration to know what maintenance is needed. In June, the city also contracted with JUB Engineers for a traffic study on 400 North between the I-15 interchange and 1200 West Street for the STIP funds and shared costs with Ogden/BDO. Based on the scope of work, $6,965.00 was approved for the study, which was to determine how much traffic is generated on the road and how much is generated by BDO. The findings will be taken to Ogden City to negotiate with them and BDO on road maintenance. The third study was commissioned by the state for a traffic study on 400 North .Mayor Butler hopes that this road will some day become a state road because of the heavy volume of traffic, but he has reservations about maintenance by the state, if it becomes a state road. New truck route limit signs on Pioneer Road have been installed, with an exemption for local traffic. A supplemental sign which allows local truck traffic is needed. A public hearing was held on May 15, 2008, concerning the "Safe Route to School Project," the extension of roadway, curb, gutter, sidewalk and landscape improvements on the east side of 1600 West from 400 North to Pioneer Elementary School. The school, sponsored by Marriott-Slaterville City, has been awarded funds from the Utah Department of Transportation to improve walking routes for students as they travel to and from the school. Many children walking to Pioneer Elementary School will have a safer passage for their walk. It is anticipated that the project schedule will be the Development of 13