When representatives from the Utah Department of Transportation presented their draft environmental impact statement for the Heber Valley bypass to the Heber City Council on Tuesday, City Councilor Yvonne Barney said citizens were experiencing “sticker shock.”
UDOT previously estimated that the project would cost $590.4 million if the bypass kept traffic on U.S. 40 between Potters Lane and 900 North, or $583.9 million if it cut through the North Fields instead.
When UDOT published the draft environmental impact statement on Jan. 7, those numbers had ballooned to $711.9 million and $760.5 million, respectively.
UDOT senior environmental program manager Naomi Kisen attributed the increase to additional engineering and mitigation. The project’s horizon year is 2050, and the project cost could increase further by then.
“Between now and if something ever gets built, these numbers are going to change,” Kisen said.
UDOT has not yet determined funding sources for the project.
UDOT prefers Alternative B, which cuts through the North Fields. Barney pointed out that previous estimates had identified Alternative B as the cheaper of the two options, and now, it’s estimated to be almost $49 million more expensive than Alternative A.
“For (residents), initially, the thought was, ‘This is going to be cheaper, so it should go through (the North Fields),’” Barney said.
Kisen said that the price difference between the two alternatives was “not that significant” and would not influence UDOT’s final decision.
UDOT senior communications manager Wyatt Woolley pointed to potential traffic backups from 500 North to SR-32 as one reason UDOT favors Alternative B, despite the extra cost. UDOT estimates a southbound queue length of 3,500 feet in Alternative A and 700 feet in Alternative B.
Heber City Mayor Heidi Franco asked that UDOT perform additional local traffic modeling on existing U.S. 40 between 900 North and College Way, but Kisen said that kind of study was outside of the scope of the project and may not produce results that are accurate by the time the bypass is built.
Potential impacts to the North Fields were another of the City Council’s concerns. UDOT has committed to mitigating at least two acres per affected acre of canals, ditches, perennial streams and wetlands, which is 54 acres in Alternative B.
“I’ve seen much higher (than 2 acres) in some of the figures I’ve seen,” Woolley said. “And that will be legally binding.”
UDOT has also promised to not permit any additional transportation access in the North Fields, a commitment that City Councilor Aaron Cheatwood complimented.
“One of the things that we’ve heard loud and clear from residents is, ‘If there’s a bypass in the North Fields, is that just going to mean we’re going to end up with car washes and gas stations?’” he said. “And the answer, it sounds like from UDOT’s perspective, is, ‘No, because we’re going to limit that in perpetuity.’”
Some council members were less complimentary of the project when they saw photo simulations of the bypass.
Franco asked whether owners with properties adjacent to the bypass would be compensated for potential decreases in property values arising from factors like noise, traffic and decreased visibility for businesses.
“Essentially, you’re asking if a change to their viewshed is compensated, and the answer is no,” Kisen said.
She added that only property owners experiencing “direct impacts” will be compensated. That means that only landowners whose properties will be seized by UDOT to build the bypass will be compensated. That’s eight homes and businesses already built or under construction if UDOT chooses Alternative B, and 27 if it chooses Alternative A.
Engineering consultant Andrea Clayton said owners whose properties may be purchased by UDOT were contacted in the spring.
Franco disagreed with UDOT’s definition of direct impacts.
“If you were to build a double-decker highway, when we ran on the campaign trail, we heard that people would sell their homes there and have to literally move out of the state because there’s nowhere else they could afford to live,” she said. “It’s that drastic for people in that area.”
Kisen added that directly impacted property owners can speak with UDOT right-of-way agents at the in-person hearing from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Wasatch High School library.
The meeting is the only in-person opportunity for residents to make comments during the public comment period, which runs until March 9. Participants can register to speak on UDOT’s website or at the hearing.
UDOT will also hold a public meeting over Zoom from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The Zoom meeting will not have an opportunity for comment.
Kisen emphasized that public comments made at the forum will not be given any more weight than public comments made through other methods. Comments can also be made via the website hebervalleyeis.udot.utah.gov, phone (801-210-0498), email [email protected] or mail addressed to “Heber Valley Corridor EIS c/o HDR” at 2825 E. Cottonwood Parkway #200, Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121.
Clayton said UDOT had received less than 40 public comments thus far, but she expected comments to come in more quickly as March 9 approaches.