UDOT, Provo police work to reduce crashes at Center Street exit
19 HOURS AGO •
PROVO -- The intersection of Interstate 15 and Provo Center Street has seen a larger-than-normal number of accidents since its reconstruction earlier this year.
On Monday morning representatives from the Utah Department of Transportation, Provo police, Provo City and Utah Highway Patrol met to discuss what to do about the accidents happening at the intersection of west Center Street and the southbound I-15 off-ramp in Provo.
The new interchange is designed to increase capacity and improve access to downtown Provo, but since its inception both Provo police and UHP have seen an increase in accidents. The police reported at least 41 accidents at the intersection since May 1, with three of those happening last Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Deputy fire chief Gary Jolley said since Sept. 1 they have responded to eight accidents where medical attention was necessary.
"We feel like it is just a matter of time before there is a fatal accident," said Provo Detective Brian Taylor, who has been assigned to study the problems at the intersection.
Provo police and UDOT agree that speed and visibility are the main factors behind the accidents. While observing the intersection on Oct. 4, officers found the majority of cars coming off the southbound ramp are going between 46 and 55 miles per hour, five to 15 miles over the advisory speed limit.
"The public doesn't pay attention to advisory speed signs," UHP Sgt. Brent Christensen said. Christensen also said that since the off-ramp is technically considered part of the freeway, where the speed limit will be 65 mph once construction is finished, drivers aren't breaking any laws. The problem is that drivers can't see the light at the bottom of the off-ramp or are trying to beat the light and end up running the red light.
"If nobody ran red lights we wouldn't have an issue but we know people will run red lights," Christensen said.
Eric Rasband, traffic manager for UDOT's I-15 reconstruction, said they have increased the all-red time at the intersection to nearly four seconds to help combat the problem. There also are plans to install an advanced warning system on the off-ramp. Rasband said the system will include a sign with flashing lights that will begin flashing five to six seconds before the light turns red and continue flashing until the line of cars has moved through the intersection. The system is scheduled to be put in place overnight Sunday.
Another source of the accidents comes from drivers paying attention to the wrong signal. Taylor said drivers have said that when traveling east or westbound on Center Street they go when the light across the intersection and under the overpass turns green, when they should be watching the light closest to them.
In order to combat that problem UDOT has plans to move some of the signals up or down so drivers can see them better when traveling under the overpass. He also said some of the signals will use a new technology that makes it so drivers farther away can't see the yellow or green light but only the red, meaning there would be no mistaking which light to follow. There also will be double-red lights installed in parts of the intersection to emphasize the need to stop.
"This is an area that didn't have a lot of signals for years and years and now people have to pay attention more and stop when necessary," I-15 project director Todd Jensen said. "We think this is a great first step. We've had similar challenges and successes in other areas."
Jensen likened the Provo Center Street interchange to the 1300 South interchange in Salt Lake City, which had similar problems when it was first configured. Those were remedied with similar changes that are being made to the Center Street interchange.
"I think these measures will help; 1300 South works," UHP Lt. Rich Christianson said.
Others involved in the meeting weren't so sure the changes aren't just a bandage for a bigger problem.
"The concern I have is this is doing nothing to address the root of the problem," Provo city engineer David Grovers said.
Grovers suggested that the entire design of the intersection may be flawed and that it might be necessary to tear down the interchange and start again sometime in the future. The major design flaw he cited is the U-turn needed for drivers traveling west to get to southbound I-15. The intersection was originally designed to work as a yield so drivers wouldn't have to wait for a light and cause traffic back-ups, but after several accidents happened UDOT put in a stop sign. However, Grovers said the angle of the travel lane makes it difficult to see if there are cars coming off the freeway. Rasband said once construction is entirely complete that lane should be more square to the intersection and make visibility for drivers better.
Jensen said they will monitor the effectiveness of the changes being made and said they wouldn't rule out completely redesigning the intersection if needed.
Rasband said he hopes to have all the changes made to the interchange in the next 30 days and said they will install new equipment as it arrives.
"Drivers slow down, obey posted speed limits and know the interchange is new and requires an additional layer of caution," Taylor said. "We are grateful to our partners for paying attention and helping us work through these issues."
Videos and graphs showing how to navigate the new intersection can be found atwww.i15core.utah.gov under the project information page.
Herald Extra.comi15core.utah.gov
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