Sam White Lane Bridge

Three hundred fifty-four feet. Two spans. One big night.

UDOT will be moving the 3,827,000-pound Sam White Lane Bridge into place on March 26, and the public is invited to watch.

This is great news for commuters who will have their preferred route to Orem restored.

This is fascinating news for the engineers who will turn out in force to watch. They're already inviting dates and planning what to wear. "It's like watching grass grow or watching the paint dry on the side of the house," said Mayor Hadfield, with genuine enthusiasm. "It's fascinating to calculate the rate of travel and the amount of weight on each wheel."

This will become the longest bridge in the western hemisphere to have been rolled into place using SPMTs (Self-Propelled Modular Transporters). The bridge's two sections will be positioned literally overnight by a single lucky contractor with a joystick.

UDOT perfected the process in American Fork at the Main Street interchange, building bridges off-site and moving them into place over a night or weekend in order to minimize disruptions to traffic. A process that used to take up to nine months was reduced to hours, and for its innovation, UDOT has been recognized as a national leader in the field.

According to Dal Hawks, I-15 CORE project director, more bridges have been moved this way in the state of Utah than in all other states combined.

The public may watch the move from the parking lot of the Utah Valley Business Park, beginning at 11:00 p.m. Interested viewers, please consult the project page for details and restrictions.