This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I don't know who is designing these "alternative" intersections (examples on Bangerter Highway and in Layton) or, more importantly, who is approving them for construction, but I believe the people who drive them every day should have a say in the process.
These intersections may work on paper or in theory, but on the ground they are no better, and sometimes worse, than traditional intersections. Examples include Bangerter Highway north at the U-201. Yesterday I lost a full 15 minutes just trying to get off Bangerter and onto 201 West. That would have been much less time at a traditional intersection.
Another example is in Layton when eastbound on 193 approaching Main Street, you cannot turn left (north). You must go straight for another half mile, up around a bend to the left, then make a U-turn and then go back the way you came and take a right onto Main Street. Absolute insanity. Whoever dreamed that up, and, more importantly, whoever approved it for construction, should be sentenced to driving it twice a day for the next 10 years.
Rob Murphy
Clinton