(St. George, UT) - The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) opened the state’s newest interchange to traffic early Thursday providing the City of St. George with a new connection to Interstate 15. The $81.5-million project began in June 2010.

The Dixie Drive Interchange at Exit 5 includes 6 bridges to move I-15 traffic over the Santa Clara River and local Dixie Drive traffic, both over and onto the interstate. Construction workers also constructed a new double-barreled tunnel for bikes-pedestrians and a channel drainage under Dixie Drive.

Engineers increased the transportation capacity in the geographically constrained area by tying the new interchange at Exit 5 to the existing Bluff Street Interchange at Exit 6 with new collector-distributor lanes. The tandem interchange system is expected to help alleviate heavy traffic during major events from the adjacent Dixie Convention Center.

Construction workers built a new alignment extension for Dixie Drive giving local motorists an additional east-west corridor in the city with more local street connections. The City of St. George worked to time adjacent street construction projects to coincide with the interchange construction and made use of the new alignment to enhance the Southgate Golf Course, landscaping and local trail connections.

UDOT asked motorists to use caution while adjusting to the new on-and-off-ramps and signals. Northbound I-15 motorists desiring to exit I-15 at Bluff Street should be prepared to move right earlier to get into the new lanes. All vehicles making left turns onto, or off of, the interstate will cross through the signal lights and over the I-15 travel lanes.

CONSTRUCTION Update:

* Final striping on the project took place between 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM beginning last Saturday evening within the area of the project closed to the public.

* Final roadway enhancement began Sunday evening at 7:00 PM on the newly constructed Northbound and Southbound lanes of I-15.

* Final installation of Traffic Signal Arms and Signals at the intersection of 270 East and Riverside Drive will be completed by Thursday, July 26th.

* All site concrete work on 270 East is completed.

* Crews working on the new parking and display lot for St. George Ford are pouring curb and gutter this week and will begin paving next week.

* The planting of trees, irrigation and spreading of mulch on the project is 85% finished.

* This week landscape crews are continuing to plant shrubs and spread rock mulch along the streetscape adjacent to the Southgate Golf Course and businesses on the North side of West Dixie Drive.

*Landscape work will continue around the project until late August.

TRAILS Update:

* The Hilton Drive Trail is open! Recreationists can use the trail and the new Dixie Drive Pedestrian Tunnel. The Dixie Drive Trail west of the tunnel is still under construction and is closed.

* The Confluence Park Trailhead and restrooms are open. The bridge connecting the Virgin River Trail to the Webb Hill Trail is open. City crews are working on the following closures: The trail between the Doctor's Free Clinic and River Road; approximately 1 mile East of River Road; The Santa Clara River Trail between Tonaquint Park and Backyard Gardener and South Bloomington/Sun River Trail between Bloomington Park and Las Colinas Subdivision. Repairs will be finished by Fall.

GOLF COURSE Update:

Construction of the Southgate Golf Course is complete. For a course layout, click (here).