The Utah Department of Transportation recently announced a contractor for the reconstruction of 400 South in Springville, and officials say the work should begin within the next month.

"They're coming in under the engineer's estimate, which in our minds is always a good thing," he said.

The projects will address several needs along the main road. The current Interstate 15 interchange will be replaced with a single-point urban interchange, or SPUI. The railroad bridge at 400 West will also be reconstructed, and a new railroad bridge will be built at 1500 West.

UDOT will also be working to widen 400 South to five lanes and add a southbound auxiliary lane between the Springville I-15 exits. The new railroad bridge at 1500 West is expected to improve safety and congestion because motorists will no longer need to wait for trains at the intersection, which is currently level with the road.

Walker said the contract with Utah County Contractors should be finalized early next week. After the contract is signed, it will likely be two to three weeks before construction begins, probably in mid-July.

"Right now, we're going through the process of going through their financials," Walker said.

Until the contract is finalized, Walker said it is difficult to know when each phase of the project will be started. The first stages will be bringing in fill material where new structures will be built. The different dirt used as fill material will need several months to settle before roads can be constructed on top. Walker said crews will also be clearing out weeds and plants along the road and building a temporary roadway at the 1500 West intersection where a new bridge will be built.

Although many specific aspects of the schedule are still unknown, Walker said crews will be notifying residents and businesses door-to-door about the developments as soon as the information is available.

Walker said the construction may be a nuisance at times, but open house meetings have helped residents to understand the project, and most have been very enthusiastic about the upgrades.

"People were truly understanding the need for widening the road, truly understanding the need for a railroad bridge at 1500 West," he said.

Walker said businesses and residents alike are happy to see the road changes, but businesses were particularly concerned about closing 400 South for the roadwork. While the contractor can still negotiate with the city if closing the road were to significantly speed up the project, Walker said UDOT has mandated that everything possible must be done to keep 400 South open during construction.

The 400 South renovation is part of a set of projects called the Access Utah County program, said deputy project director Dan Avila. The four projects are each intended to relieve some of the load of I-15 and provide an alternate route when the interstate is reconstructed. Springville's project is the first of the series, which includes Pioneer Crossing from American Fork to Redwood Road, State Road 92 from Lehi to American Fork Canyon and the Vineyard Connector from American Fork to Orem.

"If we can deliver the projects before the main I-15 reconstruction comes online, we will do just that -- provide access to Utah County," Avila said.

John Gleave, Springville community relations administrator, said the city will be providing a link on its Web site with constant updates on the Springville project. The link, posted late last week, had hits from the start, and Gleave said it is important for residents to stay informed.

Gleave said he has also collected more than 25 e-mail addresses to contact impacted businesses with updates, and several people have said the updates are helpful to them.

"We get an awful lot of people with interest in it," he said.