Redwood Road, a major north-south thoroughfare in much of metropolitan Salt Lake, was still two lanes with no sidewalks here until reconstruction started two years ago. On Wednesday the state and locals celebrated a new highway with four lanes, a striped bike route on either side, sidewalks and double left hand turns at stoplights.

Tire and auto shop owner Clayton Snow said he's grateful for the improved access.

"It was great [before] - trees just about reaching over the top, it was quiet, almost like a country road," he said. "But it really didn't facilitate the traffic."

Now Redwood is a broad suburban highway, with new commercial strips on the north and farm fields to the south, but sidewalks throughout to handle expected development. The concrete pavement is built to support 30,000 vehicle trips per day. Before, the two-lane handled 18,000 daily trips.

Local officials thanked Utah Department of Transportation Director John Njord for the new capacity. He in turn thanked the Utah Legislature for the Centennial Highway Fund, which paid for the $42 million project.

Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, president of the Utah Taxpayers Association, said the Centennial fund was the first time his organization supported a tax increase.

"It's cheaper to pay for relieving congestion than it is to sit in our cars idling," he said.

He noted that while Utah's population grew by 64 percent to 2.5 million between 1982 and 2005, vehicle miles traveled increased 130 percent, to 25 billion a year. The state increased road lane miles by 100 percent, but couldn't keep up, he said. The Legislature must allocate more next year, he said.

Here in South Jordan, officials say their next priority is an east-west upgrade along 10400 South, a project UDOT is now designing.