WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
INTERSTATE 15
ROUTE
It runs for 43 miles roughly northnortheast right through the center of the county.HISTORY
Work on I-15 was started on ??/??/196?.Exit 42
Serves New Harmony.
Exit 40
Provides access to the Kolob Canyons section of Zion National Park.
Exit 31
Provides access to Pintura.
Exit 27
Exit 27 connects I-15 to the north end of SR-17 leading down to Toquerville and LaVerkin.
Exit 22
In 1964, the section of I-15 passing through Leeds was completed with the Exit 22 interchange serving the communities of Leeds and Silver Reef.
Exit 16
Exit 16 connects I-15 to the west end of SR-9 leading to Hurricane.
Exit 13
Washington City started pushing for a new freeway interchange in 1980. The city filed an interchange justification report in 1993. Exit 13 was built in 2005 and opened on June 23 of that year. It cost $12 million to build and was a cooperative effort between the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), Washington City, and School Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA). The latter owned land under development east of the interchange and it would increase the value of that land. The landscaping around the interchange was designed with native plants. The bridge was originally proposed with a plain face, but plans were changed to include Anasazi Indian artwork at an additional cost of $16,000.
Exit 10
The Middleton Interchange was built in ???? to provide access to Washington City.
Exit 8
The St. George Blvd. interchange serves the northeast end of the City of St. George.
Exit 6
The Bluff Street interchange serves the southwest end of the City of St. George.
Exit 5
The Dixie Drive interchange is being built to relieve the traffic congestion at Exit 6.
Construction was begun about July 2010 and is scheduled to run for about a year. The cost is expected to be about $75 million.
Exit 4
The Bloomington interchange was added in ???? to serve the growing communities of Bloomington and Bloomington Hills.
Northbound Rest Area and Welcome Center
TBD
Exit 2
The Atkinville Interchange construction began in October of 2007. It was built in 2008 to connect I-15 to the Southern Parkway. It serves the already existing Sun River area and will eventually serve the new replacement airport. The Southern Parkway will eventually be the southeastern part of the Dixie Beltway. The interchange opened to westbound traffic on December 31, 2008. It opened to eastbound traffic (going as far as River Road) on 7/7/2009. It cost $36 million to build.
Virgin River Gorge
While technically not in Washington County, the Arizona section of Route 15 through the Virgin River Gorge is closely associated with the county. It is a shortcut that bypasses the old Highway 91 arc running from Boulder Dam AZ over the mountain to Santa Clara and St. George. This section of I-15 cost more than $1 million per mile to build and was opened on December 14, 1973.