The Utah Department of Transportation released its draft environmental impact statement for the Heber Valley bypass. The highway-style road is to be built to the west of Heber City, featuring a multi-use trail and frontage roads to provide local access. The bypass intends to keep traffic from U.S. 40 off of Heber City’s Main Street.
UDOT has identified Alternative B as its preferred route. Alternative B cuts through the North Fields between Potters Lane and 900 North.
The other route that was being considered, Alternative A, would have kept traffic on U.S. 40 between those two roads.
Alternative B is estimated to cost $760.5 million, almost $49 million more than Alternative A.
“Alternative B provides the strongest long-term transportation benefit for the community,” said UDOT Project Manager Craig Hancock, UDOT project manager. “The Heber Valley is growing, and this solution will help keep people moving and protect historic Heber City Main Street into the future.”
The draft environmental impact statement has been in the works since early 2020, with the final project announced on Wednesday. UDOT’s identification of a preferred route comes after the whittling down of five alternatives to two in March.
According to the draft environmental impact statement, Alternative B is “better for regional mobility,” with faster travel times and shorter travel paths. UDOT’s data predicts that local travel time on Main Street from SR-32 to the intersection of U.S. 189 and U.S. 40 will be 20 minutes and 30 seconds by 2050 if no action is taken. If Alternative B is built, that time is halved to 10 minutes and 15 seconds.
It’s also “better for local mobility,” with fewer “failing intersections” and shorter queues on Main Street. UDOT predicts traffic backups of 17,100 feet between 500 North and SR-32 by 2050. Alternative A reduces that number to 3,500 feet, while Alternative B brings it down to 700 feet.
The statement claims that Alternative B is more likely to attract regional truck traffic away from Main Street, will result in less out-of-direction travel and is overall a “longer term solution.”
But the bypass is not without impacts.
The foremost of these is the impacts to the wetlands of the North Fields. Alternative B will impact 54 acres of canals, ditches, perennial streams and wetlands, according to the draft environmental impact statements. That’s opposed to Alternative A’s 23 impacted acres.
“We know that the North Fields are vital to the essence of the community, and we want to do as much as we can to protect this special area. UDOT will prioritize the North Fields for wetland mitigation, protecting at least two acres for every acre of wetland impacted,” Hancock said.
He added that the bypass would be a “limited access road” and that UDOT would prevent any further transportation access in the North Fields.
“UDOT would not allow access on the corridor except at interchanges shown. The land would be protected in perpetuity, not privately owned or up for development,” he said.
There are some areas in which Alternative B has fewer impacts than Alternative A. For example, Alternative B will require eight potential relocations of homes and businesses built or already under construction, as opposed to Alternative A’s 27.
Alternative B also has fewer adverse effects on historic buildings, with one affected instead of four.
Although Alternative B is UDOT’s preferred bypass route, the decision has not been finalized. A public comment period on the draft environmental statement begins Friday and will continue through March 9.
Residents are invited to make public comments identifying specific concerns about the chosen route at hebervalleyeis.udot.utah.gov, via phone by calling 801-210-0498, by emailing [email protected] or by mailing a letter addressed to “Heber Valley Corridor EIS c/o HDR” to 2825 E. Cottonwood Parkway #200, Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121.
UDOT will present the draft environmental impact statement during the Wasatch County Council work session at 4 p.m. on Jan. 14 and the Heber City Council work session at 4 p.m. on Jan. 20.
UDOT will also hold two public meetings during the public comment period.
One is a Zoom meeting, which will not allow opportunity for public comments, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 27.
The second is an open house taking place from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 28 at the Wasatch High School library. Project team members will be available at the open house to answer questions. A court reporter will record public comments during a presentation and formal hearing from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
UDOT will release a final environmental impact statement by the summer. This statement will include responses to public comments. Following the release of the final environmental impact statement, the bypass can enter construction.