SLC neighborhood spared after state backs off widening Interstate 15 in heart of Utah’s capital

Zeke, Squeak and Tom have unconventional backyards, but they love them all the same.

Their small plots are dominated by a tall, gray soundwall — imposing, sure, but it doesn’t stop Zeke the chocolate lab from chomping on anything he can find. Or the neighbor cats Squeak and Tom from chasing down mice.

For a while, the future of these backyards and the homes in front of them was uncertain as state officials weighed an Interstate 15 widening plan that could’ve wiped out 14 houses in Salt Lake City’s Guadalupe neighborhood.

Now, these pets’ owners are breathing a sigh of relief after the Utah Department of Transportation announced it was dropping plans to enlarge the freeway south of 600 North, sparing houses on Argyle Court, Edmonds Place and 400 North.

Zeke’s family — Kyle and Amanda Spencer and their 1-year-old daughter, Adelaide — are grateful the change has ended years of limbo.

“For us, now knowing that the project isn’t going through or at least that our house is safe, as far as we know, it’s really reassuring,” Amanda Spencer said. “And now we know that we can stay here and just keep living our life.”

The Spencers, like some of their neighbors, are relieved that UDOT hit the brakes on the plan. Uncertainty about the almost $3 billion project had been looming like the soundwall behind their home.

UDOT officials say the expansion, now slated to run from 600 North up to Farmington, will boost traffic flow and cut commute times as the Beehive State continues to grow. The state plans to reconstruct the freeway with five general lanes, one carpool lane and, in most stretches, an additional lane for on- and off-ramps.

UDOT spokesperson John Gleason said the agency decided to cap the widening at 600 North for a number of reasons.

“In making our final decisions, we weighed a combination of things — technical feasibility, budget, and public input. In this case, all of those factors aligned,” he wrote in an email. “The project in Salt Lake City reflects both sound engineering and what we heard from the community. Minimizing impacts on nearby neighborhoods is always a high priority and we work hard to find solutions that support this goal.”

Department officials, meanwhile, are looking to widen Legacy Parkway to ease construction-related headaches on I-15 and handle continuing suburban growth.

Anti-widening advocates have argued the interstate project would come at a cost to air quality (despite UDOT’s findings to the contrary), housing and, eventually, traffic, arguing that adding a lane will just encourage people to drive more.

UDOT is also planning to work with the Utah Transit Authority to make complementary improvements to the FrontRunner commuter train service and boost bus routes in the corridor.

Sparing a neighborhood

Running north to south from 400 North, Edmonds Place becomes Argyle Court after a small bend. The short, narrow roadway, outfitted with speed bumps and 15 mph speed limit signs, ends at 300 North.

It’s a neighborhood street with newer homes than those on surrounding roads. The roar of traffic is less noticeable indoors here, but dominates the soundscape in the Spencers’ and their neighbors’ backyards.

Amanda Spencer pointed out that dust and trash coming over the wall from the freeway is a recurring problem, too.

Despite the issues, she and the family have enjoyed living here since they arrived in 2022. Kyle Spencer — an unemployed tech worker laid off in Pluralsight’s latest round of cuts — bought the house for $385,000 as a starter home. Amanda Spencer, a former school nurse who has been staying home to raise Adelaide, moved in shortly after.

The Spencers say the area is neighborly, diverse and accepting, and they enjoy taking Adelaide and Zeke on walks, especially to Guadalupe Park.

The planned freeway expansion has worn on them, though. They found communication from UDOT about the status of the project lacking, especially around the state’s potential acquisition of the house, and felt they had to initiate contact with the agency to get their questions answered. The uncertainty around the widening, coupled with a baby on the way, created enormous stress for the family.

“Throughout the I-15 [environmental study], we worked closely with the public to keep them aware of where we were in the process and the opportunities they had to provide input,” said Gleason, the UDOT spokesperson. “As the alternatives took shape, we made extra effort to engage with those whose property could be potentially impacted by what we were proposing, including direct mailers, door-to-door visits in certain neighborhoods and follow-up phone calls when possible.”

For now, the family plans to stay in the neighborhood for a couple more years as Kyle Spencer searches for a new job.

Retirement plans

Tom and Squeak, the cats who like to hunt mice in their backyard, might be sticking around even longer. Their owner, Larry Mullin, said the possibility that UDOT could demolish his house for the expansion was worrisome.

“Initially, they were saying they were going to take the house,” Mullin said. “And being that I’m older, this would be something for my older years, a kind of a safety net, so to speak, for my old age. It was very upsetting.”

He’s lived on Edmonds Place for about nine years after realizing he could afford a home in the neighborhood. Mullin enjoys his home’s proximity to downtown and the peaceful area around it, and he’s relieved he won’t be displaced.

Frody Volgger, who was one of the first residents on Argyle Court 28 years ago, has put a lot of work into his abode. A retired chef, he has redone his kitchen and hosts cooking classes there. He’s also created an “oasis” in his backyard by growing ivy on the soundwall.

Like Mullin, he plans to continue living out his retirement here.

“I was planning on just dying in this house, so I’m very happy that they came [around],” Volgger said. “... Making the freeway any bigger doesn’t solve the problem. It just causes more problems, more cars. It’s just stupidity. We need to have public transportation, not more cars on the road.”

Continuing concern

Anti-widening advocates, often led by the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah, made similar arguments to UDOT during the fight to stop the expansion.

“It’s definitely a better outcome healthwise, than it would have been if they continued to pursue this,” HEAL Utah Executive Director Lexi Tuddenham said. “... At the end of the day, this doesn’t, by itself, improve air quality in these communities that we know already bear some of the greatest burdens of poor air quality and other environmental and pollution concerns. However, it does at least relieve some of that burden of concern that it was going to get worse from this particular source.”

Tuddenham said the state government still needs to be focusing on boosting non-car transportation and improving air quality.

There also remains some unease on the west side as to whether UDOT’s plans are final. Gleason, the agency’s spokesperson, said “​​widening the freeway south of 600 North will not happen with this project,” but that the agency will “continue to evaluate future needs in the area.”

The agency plans to choose a main contractor for the widening project by next fall, with construction set to start in late spring or early summer 2027.