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Some sure signs of spring are appearing: cherry blossoms, tulips — and orange construction barrels.

The Utah Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that it plans to work on 150 highway projects statewide this spring and summer at a cost of $500 million. That's slightly fewer projects than usual, but the cost is slightly higher.

Projects include a major makeover of Interstate 215 in western Salt Lake County, extending the new Mountain View Corridor highway there and finishing the Interstate 15 rebuild near the Point of the Mountain.

"You're going to see orange barrels all over the place," said UDOT Deputy Director Shane Marshall. "It's part of Utah. We have a very short construction season. We have to put all this into a few months."

But he adds that UDOT will do all it can to keep traffic moving — including working at night and on weekends to lessen commuting impacts, and building replacement bridges to the side of roads and sliding them into place in one night to reduce disruptions.

Utah has replaced more bridges that way in overnight operations — 49 so far — than maybe all other states combined, said Marshall. "It's funny that it's not that innovative anymore."

UDOT released a list of the top 10 projects for this construction season, led by the $105 million project on I-215. It will reconstruct concrete pavement between 4700 South and State Road 201 — with addition of some auxiliary lanes there.

Crews also will repave westbound I-215 lanes with new asphalt between Redwood Road and 300 East.

"It will take about 16 months to complete" after work begins next month, said project manager Oanh Le-Spradlin. "We are going to be working 24 hours, seven days a week. It's a lot of work, and the contractor is trying to get this done as fast as possible."

She adds, "We're going to keep all four lanes open during the commute," but lane restrictions will come at night and on weekends.

Marshall warns that while four lanes will be open during commuting hours, "they will be four narrow lanes. There won't be any shoulders. Anytime you have narrow lanes, traffic starts to build."

UDOT seeks help from the public to reduce congestion there and on other projects. "They can leave earlier or later, take a trip on transit, carpool when possible," Marshall said. "All those little things add up to make a big difference."

Le-Spradlin said residents of western Salt Lake County have been waiting a long time for reconstruction of that section, which serves 100,000 vehicles daily. "The area has grown a lot" since it was completed, and some lanes there have badly deteriorated recently.

Here are some other projects on the top 10 list:

I-15 at the Point of the Mountain • UDOT plans to finish the $252 million project this summer that has widened the freeway and rebuilt pavement between 12300 South in Draper to State Road 92 in Lehi. Marshall said most work between Bangerter Highway and Lehi will start to wrap up next month, and speed limits will soon return to 70 mph there. But major construction will still happen this summer between Bangerter and 12300 South.

Mountain View Corridor • Work has already begun on a two-year, $180 million project to expand that divided highway from 5400 South to 4100 South in West Valley City.

I-15 near Brigham City • Crews have begun work on a $52 million project to widen a 13-mile section of I-15 to add a lane in each direction from 2700 North in Farr West to U.S. 91 in Brigham City. Most work will occur in the freeway median and traffic delays are expected to be minimal.

Bangerter Highway at 600 West • A $48 million project begins later this month to convert that intersection into a freewaylike interchange. It is part of a multiyear process to slowly convert Bangerter into a freeway.

I-15 at Hill Field Road • Work on a $28 million project that began last year is expected to be done this summer. The project replaced bridges and will lead to a redesigned interchange to improve traffic flow.

I-15 near St. George • A $24 million project will add two lanes in each direction between St. George Boulevard and Green Springs Drive, and build new underpasses to connect Red Cliffs Drive with Red Hills Parkway.

I-15 in Weber County • A $14 million project will repave eight miles of the freeway from the I-84 junction in Riverdale to 2700 North in Farr West.

U.S. 189 near Deer Creek Reservoir • Construction starts this month on a $13 million project to widen a six-mile segment of U.S. 189 to two lanes in each direction plus a center turn lane.

U.S. 6 near I-70 • A $6 million project will repave a 10-mile section of U.S. 6 near its junction with I-70.

Marshall urges drivers to take care when they see the orange construction cones. "When you see them, slow down. Give those workers a break and make sure they are safe."