St. George leaders are pressing ahead with a long-stalled plan to punch two underpasses beneath I-15, even after a major federal funding cut blew an $87.6 million hole in the budget. City and state transportation officials say they are racing to plug that gap while trying to keep the long-promised crossings at 400 East and 900 South on track to finally break ground later this year.
State transportation officials say the work could begin this fall as part of a roughly $107 million push to widen I-15 between Bluff Street and St. George Boulevard and to add the two new crossings. UDOT project manager Brett Anderson and city officials told the The Salt Lake Tribune that the agency has applied for a $25 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant, is leaning on federal lawmakers and is weighing state or local contributions while it hunts for replacement cash. “We are asking for help because that is a lot of money we lost,” Anderson said, noting that the ask comes as the city is already paying for a roughly $100 million expansion of the St. George Regional Airport.
Project Scope and Timeline
According to UDOT, the project will raise I-15 so new structures can be built at 400 East and 900 South, replace the 100 South and 700 South overpasses and add one lane in each direction along a 2.5-mile stretch of freeway. The agency lists design work as running from fall 2024 through early 2026, with construction expected to begin in mid-2026 and continue through 2028.
Funding Hole and How It Happened
The money that was supposed to pay for the crossings was awarded in 2024, then rescinded in July 2025 as part of broader federal budget cuts, a reversal that left officials scrambling to recoup about $87.6 million. The The Salt Lake Tribune reported that the decision, which was tied to the Trump administration’s budget changes, forced planners back to the drawing board on how to finance the underpasses.
What Was Awarded and What’s at Stake
UDOT had initially announced the Reconnecting Communities award in March 2024 and said the grant would pay for the two new crossings and the local streets that would connect into them, according to UDOT. The project’s environmental review and traffic analyses, produced with the Dixie Metropolitan Planning Organization, concluded that the corridor already carries heavy traffic and that the new crossings would shorten walking routes to Dixie High and Dixie Middle while easing traffic chokepoints, according to the project environmental review.
Next Steps
For now, officials say the schedule depends on whether the $25 million grant application is approved, whether additional federal money can be restored in the next fiscal year, or whether state or local dollars can be shuffled in to fill the gap. If the funding picture does not improve, UDOT can still move forward with much of the I-15 widening, but the more pedestrian-friendly underpasses could be pushed back until permanent funding is locked in.
