Growing traffic congestion along north Bluff Street, where drivers are funneled between a pair of mesas while crossing between Green Valley and downtown St. George, prompted planners to consider a large-scale overhaul of the corridor.
Residents and business owners along the busy, mile-long stretch of road were nervous about the original plans, which included a large interchange-type structure at Sunset Boulevard and the elimination of a number of buildings to make way for the wider road.
Residents bristled at the idea of displacing longtime businesses along the way, and many filed public comments voicing their objections.
But in a well-attended open house meeting in St. George on Tuesday, attendees were shown a scaled-back version of the plans that traffic managers expect to be much less disruptive.
The series of projects, including new intersections at St. George and Sunset boulevards and a widening from five lanes to seven, are slated to begin by 2018, and they won’t include the type of major structural changes described in the original plans.
At Sunset Boulevard, previous plans for a large “flyover” bridge and other changes have been dropped in favor of a smaller project that would function more as a realignment of the existing ground-level intersection than a complete overhaul.
The proposal won’t accommodate as much traffic for as long a time as the original project, but it still meets the anticipated traffic demands out to about 2040 and allows for a larger project later if needed, said Dana Meier, program manager with the Utah Department of Transportation.
“It focuses more on the major movements,” Meier said of the new design, which allows for more direct flow between the two busiest traffic patterns — drivers headed from northbound Bluff onto westbound Sunset, and from eastbound Sunset onto southbound Bluff.
Engineers say Bluff Street sees about 44,000 vehicles per day just south of the intersection, while about 33,000 vehicles per day pass along Sunset Boulevard just west of the intersection. Bluff Street slows to just 16,000 vehicles per day to the north.
The project also comes at a lower cost — $12 million compared to $17 million — and allows for better access and visibility for nearby residents and businesses.
“Because the realigned T-intersection would share a similar grade with the existing intersection, neighboring ground‐level views in all directions would not be obstructed, including views from the Dixie Red Hills Golf Course, the Sunstone Condominiums, and Bluff Street Trail,” according to the reevaluation study that outlines the plans.
Cameron Cutler, the public works director for the City of St. George, said the project also preserves what the city sees as a “downtown business” type of atmosphere in the area, which officials prefer over a large scale freeway-type interchange structure.
"We're very appreciative of UDOT," he said. "It's not easy to stop a project and go back and look at what the needs are and try to meet the demands of everyone else."
Richard Kohler, an area architect and member of the Washington County Historical Society who owns a condominium near the intersection, campaigned for several years in favor of an alternative to any elevated overpass, arguing that the roadway didn’t demand the types of traffic capacities the state was planning to accommodate.
He said Tuesday he was glad to hear the new plan left the intersection at ground level.
Nearly $40 million is forecast for property purchases and other costs associated with widening the road south of Sunset Boulevard, and for an overhaul of the St. George Boulevard intersection that would put more emphasis on movements between Bluff Street to the north and the Boulevard to the east.
The plans still require a large number of property acquisitions — 26 business relocations, nine building impacts and full right-of-way acquisitions and 41 partial acquisitions — but those numbers are reduced slightly from the original plans thanks to a redesign that uses slightly narrower travel lanes.
Mike Connell, a resident who attended the open house, said the project is going to be hard on some properties, including a commercial building he owns where the existing tenant may leave because of the project’s anticipated impact on parking.
On the other hand, Connell said he supported the move overall though, calling it a good step to ease traffic congestion and enable future growth.
“In the long run I think it’s going to be a good thing,” he said, comparing it to the installation of the median on St. George Boulevard a decade ago, a project that hurt many businesses at the time of construction but eventually created better safety and traffic trends.
“Just like on (St. George Boulevard) it’s going to affect businesses, but if we can get through it it’s going to be good,” he said.
Kevin Kitchen, communications manager with UDOT, said the agency would continue to solicit public comment on the new plans until Sept. 1.
Public involvement is important, he said, noting the Bluff Street project has already undergone two major redesigns as the agency tries to meet the needs of the community.
“I think this is great,” he said Tuesday, watching as the open house filled quickly at the City of St. George offices. “This is the type of interaction we want.”
FollowDavid DeMille on Twitter,@SpectrumDeMille, and on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/SpectrumDeMille. Call him at 435-674-6261.
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Online
See the reevaluation study and other details on the Bluff Street projects at udot.utah.gov/bluffstreet.
