Interstate 215 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belt Route | ||||
 I-215 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Auxiliary route of I-15 | ||||
| Maintained by UDOT | ||||
| Length | 28.946 mi[1] (46.584 km) | |||
| Existed | 1963–present | |||
| NHS | Entire route | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| Counterclockwise end |   I-80 / SR-186 in Millcreek | |||
 SR-152 in Cottonwood Heights I-15 in Murray SR-201 in West Valley City I-80 in Salt Lake City SR-67 in North Salt Lake | ||||
| Clockwise end | I-15 in North Salt Lake | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Utah | |||
| Counties | Salt Lake, Davis | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Interstate 215 (I-215), also known locally as the Belt Route,[2] is the only auxiliary Interstate in the U.S. state of Utah, forming a three-quarters loop around Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs. The route begins at the mouth of Parley's Canyon at a junction with I-80 east of the city center, and heads south through the edge of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area's eastern suburbs of Millcreek, Holladay, and Cottonwood Heights. It continues west through Murray before turning north again, passing through the city's first-ring western suburbs of Taylorsville and West Valley City. It then enters North Salt Lake and Davis County for a short distance before reaching I-15 northwest of the city center.
The Interstate was proposed in the mid-1950s, along with I-15 and I-80 through Salt Lake City. At the time, only the western portion of the belt route was assigned as I-215. The eastern portion of the belt route was designated Interstate 415. However, the I-415 designation was scrapped to provide a single route number for the entire route in 1969, with the I-215 designation covering the complete belt route. The freeway was constructed in segments, the first of which opened in 1963 between Redwood Road in North Salt Lake and 2100 North near the airport. I-215 was originally planned to be complete in the mid-1970s, but the last section, between 6200 South and 4500 South in Holladay, was not completed until 1989 because of challenges from citizens' groups over environmental impact statements.[citation needed]
- ^ "Interstate 215 Reference" (PDF). Utah Department of Transportation. 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- ^ Boal, Jed; Giauque, Marc (July 9, 2008). "Morning accident has some questioning if semi truck ban is needed". KSL.com. Retrieved August 10, 2008.