ST. GEORGE — The end is nigh for work on the final phase of the 3000 East expansion. Paving new lanes and installing pedestrian infrastructure is expected to wrap in the coming weeks.
While the roadway expansion to five lanes aims to accommodate increasing traffic caused by recent growth in this part of St. George, the project is also meant to help ease some recurring traffic issues around George Washington Academy.
Project updates
Cameron Cutler, the city of St. George’s public works director, told St. George News on Tuesday that the contractor working on the project should begin paving northbound lanes between 2450 South and 2220 South in the next week or so.
Overall work on the project’s final phase is expected to conclude sometime in September, he said.
The final phase of 3000 East roadwork runs from 2000 South to 2630 South. The project began with roadwork on Mall Drive at Riverside Drive in 2021. Upgrades to the roadway since have included expanding from three to five lanes, installing curb, gutter and sidewalks along the way, and making additional improvements to intersections and connecting roadways around the new Red Cliffs Utah Temple.
Currently, travel through the last phase of roadwork is limited to a single lane in each direction. The speed limit through the work zone is 30 mph, and motorists are advised to pay attention to the road for their safety and those around them.
Crews are working on the project from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday with no work scheduled for weekends.
Cutler said city planners had hoped to have the roadwork completed before the start of the school year, which began Monday. However, if work continues as planned, that part of 3000 East may open to traffic later this month, he said.
Easing congestion around charter school
George Washington Academy’s campus lies between 2220 South and 2450 South. When the school originally opened in 2006, Cutler said a condition placed on the school by the city mandated students attending be picked up and dropped off by car. This was due to the fact there were no other connecting roadways beyond 3000 East or pedestrian-friendly infrastructure in place at the time.
In the past, this has led to congestion around the school caused by parents waiting to drop off or pick up their children, Cutler said.
A representative for George Washington Academy briefly spoke with St. George News and said they hadn’t experienced any significant issues with the current roadwork and added the school and city had worked together to solve the previous problems, which Cutler later confirmed.
Part of this remedy has involved the school creating pick-up and drop-off procedures for parents and offsetting school start and end times with nearby Crimson View Elementary to reduce overall congestion in the area.
Current issues may be due to parents who are dropping off their kids for the first time and are not yet aware of how the process works, the school representative said.
As for how the 3000 East construction could help with any lingering congestion issues around the school, Cutler pointed to the new sidewalks being installed along the roadway and a new northbound deceleration lane by the school, constructed to decrease traffic back-up before it spills onto the road proper.
“Our big push is to have them queuing off 3000 East,” Cutler said.
Other benefits of 3000’s East completion include the city lifting the requirement that students commute to and from school only. With the installation of sidewalks and accompanying infrastructure, students will have the option to walk to school instead.
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