I-15 Art (Cont'd) July 19, 2008 Western-style art spices up Interstate 15 work areas By LANA GROVES Standard-Examiner staff lgroves@standard.net OGDEN Drivers passing under the bridge of the Interstate 15 off-ramp on 12th Street will see metal art depicting scenes of Western life on either side. The art, designed and constructed by Tod Wadsworth, is a way for the Ralph Wadsworth Construction Company to add a community touch of art to the construction work in progress on I-15. Wadsworth started designing and constructing metal art in 1992 for freeways in Draper. During the 2000 Winter Olympics, he offered to design an Olympic-themed mural off an interchange to Bangerter Highway in Draper. "I approached UDOT and asked if they would let me do something," Wadsworth, vice president of the construction company, said. "We had the contract already, (so) all the artwork and time would be at our cost." Wadsworth continued incorporating Olympic murals in Park City to add aesthetic appeal to pieces of highways and bridges. When the company applied for the $140 million I-15 project, it included the option of designing parts of the bridges near Ogden. "Each bridge, just the northbound or southbound on-ramp, costs between $2 (million) to $3 million," he said. "It takes about three people to design and construct the mural, which costs about $10,000." Wadsworth met with the mayors of Farr West, Marriott-Slatersville and West Haven this year to discuss what they wanted the mural in each city to depict. Mayor Keith H. Butler of Marriot-Slatersville decided on two designs for the 12th Street bridge. On the north side, the mural depicts a train running through desert land with bandits on the side. The south side shows covered wagons and settlers pulling handcarts as they travel west. "We picked it because we used to have the Denver/Rio Grande line run along there," said Bill Morris, Marriott-Slatersville city administrator. "Freeways have a stark cement look, and this kind of softens it makes a significant improvement." Tom Smith spent three days helping install the cut-out met-al onto the bridge. He said the project is fun to work on. "The great train robbery scene (on the 12th Street bridge) was one of the more enjoyable ones," he said. "It makes the bridge look really good, and with traffic moving slowly through there, more people can enjoy it." The murals will be on the off-ramp bridges for 2700/1800 North in Farr West and 21st Street in West Haven. Mayor Brian Melaney of West Haven said he's excited for the design on their bridge to be in place. "The message I was trying to show was based on the kind of community we have," he said. "West Haven reflects cowboy, farming, recreation and leisurely activities, which is what the mural will hopefully show." Wadsworth said he likes making the bridges unique and wants to do more in the future. "It adds an aesthetic quality to something that is usually plain." 59