Sam Scorup

Although the closure of a main Springville road during construction may cause inconvenience for motorists, time and money will be saved in the long run, city and state officials said.

Drivers traveling from Mapleton will need to go through the entire length of Springville's Main Street -- or make their way through Spanish Fork -- to reach I-15 as a result of the closure of Springville's 400 South between 1750 West and Main Street. However, closing the road will expedite improvements in Springville and keep money in taxpayers' pockets, officials said.

"This is the first time I worked on a project with the state where we worked so closely together," Springville city administrator Troy Fitzgerald said. "The city plans to save

$1 million in tax dollars, so I think it's great."

Closing the road meant construction would proceed more quickly. Now it will take about 11 months, rather than the one-and-a-half to two years required if the road were to remain open, said Scott Thompson, a public information officer for the Utah Department of Transportation.

A new waterline, two railroad overpasses, an interchange and a bridge expansion are among the projects to be undertaken in Springville, Thompson and Fitzgerald said.

The waterline will cost an estimated $735,000, with UDOT chipping in about $500,000 of that figure, Thompson said. Savings from other parts of the project were shifted into funds for the waterline, which Thompson said is expected to be completed in November 2009.

Some sources of savings from the closure have included the elimination of the cost of barricades and flaggers that would be necessary to maintain traffic on a road under construction. Also, it was determined that an alternate road would not be built to offset the closure on 400 South, Thompson said.

Besides foregoing the construction of an alternate road, Springville's savings come from its ability to pass on the costs of repaving and right-of-way. The waterline will run into UDOT's right of way, Fitzgerald said. UDOT will move powerlines, while city experts will "bury" them to provide underground power, he said.

Fitzgerald said the amount of the bill footed by Springville depends on cost overruns relative to what is in the contract between the city and UDOT. For example, if larger pipes are needed than what is prescribed in the contract, Springville is responsible for covering that cost.

When construction is finished, 400 South will have two lanes running in each direction and a center turn lane from Main Street to I-15. One southbound lane will be added to I-15 between S.R. 75 and S.R. 77, Fitzgerald said.

Project team meetings have brought together officials from Mapleton, Springville and UDOT, and further talk of timelines and progress will take place.

"We're in constant discussions with Springville and Mapleton," Thompson said. "We want to work with them and make sure we can get people around the closure and ease the pain of this project as much as we can."

• Sam Scorup can be reached at 344-2561 or sscorup@heraldextra.com