But nobody's sad to see them go.

Amid a multiyear expansion project - which will fatten to six lanes this major thoroughfare connecting Interstate 15 to Provo Canyon - houses bought by the state transportation department have become abandoned and vandalized eyesores.

"It makes Orem City look crappy," said Christine Rego, who lives in one of the 800 North apartments still standing - for now. "And they're a major fire hazard."

Orem police report no fires in the empty houses, though the Fire Department and the SWAT team have used them for training.

With demolition of the homes under way, there are fewer boarded-up buildings on trashed lots to worry about.

By next year, Utah Department of Transportation officials plan to have purchased and cleared the 65-plus properties standing in the way of major expansion work.

The $49 million project will result in three lanes for westbound and eastbound traffic from 400 West to 1000 East with a raised median along that same corridor.

"In Utah County, we're experiencing so much growth that it's really put a strain on the transportation system that we have," UDOT spokesman Geoff Dupaix said. "In a nutshell, we're growing faster than our ability to keep up."

Thus the project to overhaul 800 North - which is sending businesses and longtime residents along the road's north side looking for new homes.

Rego and her family are headed for Provo after three years renting along the street.

"It was kind of hard because you get settled and comfortable," she said. "But UDOT has been real cooperative to work with."

Carolyn Fields, who works at the Sinclair at 175 E. 800 North, said she is going to miss more than the gas station she has worked at for four years.

"I'm going to miss is my customers," Fields said. "They're the greatest customers in Utah County."

Like several other property holders, Sinclair's owners are still in negotiations with UDOT for the purchase price.

By law, UDOT is required to pay fair-market value for every home, apartment complex and business it buys along the road. The agency also is providing relocation assistance to displaced homeowners.

Dupaix acknowledges not all the negotiations have gone smoothly.

"There has been some difficulty at times, just because people that have established their lives in that area, they've lived there 30 years," Dupaix said. "When you have people that have lived there for so long, they see the need, but at the same time, it is difficult."

Craig Cordes and his wife have lived just off 800 North for 34 years and, luckily, live just far enough away to keep their home. Better still, UDOT will be turning the couple's street into a cul-de-sac, with an 8-foot wall separating them from the new road.

"It was inevitable," Craig Cordes said of the expansion. "When we first moved here in 1972, you could park on 800 North. It's very much changed. We're just hoping and praying that we can live here with the expansion."

Road work will begin in the spring, Dupaix said, with completion slated by fall 2008.

thollingshead@sltrib.com

Road work under way

* Construction hasn't started on Orem's 800 North expansion project, but motorists in Utah County are dealing with other road and highway work. The Utah Department of Transportation is advising motorists of the following construction projects:

Since Tuesday, the offramp from southbound Interstate 15 to U.S. Highway 6 has been closed for bridge repair. The ramp will remain closed until Sept. 23.

Drivers needing to access U.S. 6 are being detoured to Spanish Fork's Main Street interchange, Exit 257. From Main, motorists can use 800 North, Center Street or 300 South to get to the highway.

Heavy trucks should use 300 South (State Route 198).

Those wanting to avoid the construction area also can use State Route 75 (Exit 260) and 400 South (Exit 261) to get to U.S. 89 in Springville.

UDOT said motorists can expect moderate to heavy delays.

* At 8 p.m. today, I-15 will be reduced to one lane in alternating directions from the 500 East exit in American Fork to 800 North in Orem.

Lane restrictions will be in effect until 6 a.m. Saturday for paving operations. During this time, Express/HOV lanes will be closed.

* From 8 p.m. Saturday through 6 a.m. Monday, the west end of University Parkway, from the I-15 interchange to Geneva Road, will be restricted to one land in each direction.

UDOT officials said the work should not affect traffic traveling to or from Saturday's Brigham Young University football game. The game begins at 2 p.m.