Major Project: 400/450 Widening

Description of the Project

The Project is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2021

North Ogden City’s main commercial and commuter intersection is Washington Blvd/2600 N., which has an I-15 freeway access further west.  There are nearly 35,000 vehicles that pass through this intersection daily, and it is heavily used by residents of North Ogden, Pleasant View, Harrisville, and Ogden.  The intersection has two big box stores and multiple smaller commercial developments, with new stores underway.   The southern and western legs of the intersection are both 5-lane state highways.  Unfortunately, the two state highways end at this intersection, and the two city legs (eastern and northern) both abruptly transition to 2 lane roads out of this intersection.  This creates significant stacking issues and congestion on the state highways, because the city roads narrow so abruptly and cars are forced to merge before the intersection (inefficiency) or abruptly after the intersection (dangerous).  This intersection has been identified as a dangerous stretch by media reports, and we have been working with UDOT, WFRC, and WACOG to improve this intersection and traffic flow.

To that end the City has obtained approval for a roughly 10 million dollar project to enhance the intersection at 2600 N. and Washington Blvd. as well as lengthen the transition between the 5 lane highways as the remaining City streets.  The most significant of these projects is the extension of the 5 lanes north on 400/450 East up to 3100 N. as funds become available. 

The project as currently planned will result in two vehicular travel lanes in each direction through the intersection, as well as two dedicated turn lanes (Eastbound turning Northbound, Westbound turning Southbound, Northbound turning Westbound) and one dedicated turn lane (Southbound turning Eastbound). This expanded capacity at the intersection should increase the ability of the stoplights to get vehicles through the intersection as quickly and safely as possible.  Also included in this project scope is the realignment of the 2850 N. and Elberta Drive intersection at 400 E. with the addition of stop light controls to help manage the safety of that intersection.

Below is a depiction of the various legs of the project

Project Funding

The City has received $8,350,000 in money from state and local sources for this project.  These funds are largely supported by the transportation taxes we all pay when we buy fuel, or the county sales tax transportation portion when we buy goods and services in Weber County.  The City will also be funding roughly $2,000,000 to match the grant money out of the City funds.  Principally these funds will come from the Transportation Impact Fee funds, Transportation Utility Fee funds, and Sales and Property taxes.  The City does not have any current plans to increase sales or property taxes to fund our portion of this project as we have identified other available funds.

Property Purchases

The City has already purchased 10 homes along the widening routes, 3 of which were rental properties.  All of these homes have been purchased on a voluntary basis with the City offering to purchase the homes and, if the owners agreed, paying the appraised value of the homes along with moving expenses and other similar costs. There will be several properties along the 400/450 east alignment where the City will need to purchase some additional right of way in the front yards.  The final design/width has not been approved so the City cannot purchase those properties until a width is settled on as part of the environmental analysis of the project.

Right-of -Way Width

The City is currently exploring the various options on the proposed Right-of-Way width.  We are required under the WFRC grant (3.6 million dollars) to have 5 lanes of traffic and accommodate bicycle traffic through dedicated lanes or other improvements.  Below are a few of the options being considered, though in general the more narrow Right-of-Way will provide for less impact on the neighboring property owners where the City has to purchase the additional Right-of-Way width.

An environmental study will be completed to help determine the appropriate Right-of-Way width as well as the best alignment for the project.  Currently it is anticipated that the road will be widened to the East from 2600 N. through 2850 N. and then transition to the west side of the road above 2850 N.

Questions

Questions and comments should be directed to administration by emailing administration@nogden.org.

If you would like to provide feedback to the City Council please email CCMM@nogden.org