Hyrum to Nibley Now Clear Sailing

by Herald Journal

HYRUM - State Route 165 is open for business.

Representatives from the Utah Department of Transportation, Staker & Parson Companies and Hyrum city joined the Mountain Crest Marching Band on Friday to celebrate the completion of a project to widen the highway between Nibley and Hyrum. The $4.2 million construction began in the spring.

"We're happy to have completed a project that adds consistency to what we've done before," said Transportation Commissioner Stephen Bodily of Lewiston.

The road that connects Logan to Paradise had previously been widened to four lanes as far as Nibley. The road then narrowed to two lanes for most of the remaining stretch into Paradise. UDOT had long planned to improve the next few miles into Hyrum. but lack of funding prevented the project from moving forward. Bodily said the wider road will help tie the valley together, making Hyrum more accessible to Cache County residents. Rep. Curt Webb, R-Providence, said people in the south end of the valley are no doubt appreciative of the road, but urged them to remember that the road runs both directions.

"It used to be as if Hyrum was in a different country on a different continent after you leave Nibley," said Jim Gass, executive director of the Cache Metropolitan Planning Organization. "But now it feels like Hyrum is tied to the rest of the community."

The widening of Highway 165 between Nibley and Hyrum takes UDOT one step closer to completing plans for the entire north-south corridor. The final step is to widen U.S. Highway 91 between Smithfield and Preston, Bodily said. That project has also been long in the making, and UDOT plans to take bids for the 11-mile stretch in November. Construction should begin next spring and last for two road-construction seasons.

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