The Utah Department of Transportation will delay its decision on the Heber Valley bypass route until the spring of 2027, representatives from the state agency told the Heber City Council on Tuesday.

UDOT had formerly anticipated publishing its final environmental impact statement for the new highway, which will divert through traffic off of Heber City’s Main Street, by the end of this year. It published the draft environmental impact statement in January. That document included a preferred route that cut through the North Fields, a freshwater wetland habitat that has seen agricultural use for generations.

The announcement about the proposed route provoked months of pushback, public comment and protest by residents, farmers and elected officials.

Numerous local and state elected officials jointly signed a letter to UDOT in March rejecting the proposed route. The letter requested the bypass be shifted further east, as close to existing U.S. 40 as possible, to avoid bisecting existing farmlands, protect groundwater quality and preserve open space and conservation easements. 

UDOT is considering shifting the bypass east, but exactly how far is to be determined. That’s one reason why the state delayed publishing the final environmental impact statement.

UDOT is also considering other amendments suggested by the City Council, like moving a section that runs along 1300 South into undeveloped land to minimize impacts to existing homes and businesses, and redesigning an interchange at Midway Lane to be more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly.

UDOT Project Manager Craig Hancock said the group secured $1 million in funding from the Utah Transportation Commission to consider these changes and conduct additional traffic and wetlands analysis.

“We have our wetland experts who are actually on the ground doing the wetland delineations. So, it’s a much more granular look than the general wetland data that’s available (from state and federal agencies),” Hancock said.

UDOT is also collaborating with stakeholders like the North Fields Irrigation Company, which has controlled water use in the area since 1860, to better understand the potential impacts the bypass could have on the North Fields.

This information will help UDOT formulate a plan to preserve at least 2 acres of wetlands, canals, ditches and perennial streams for every acre impacted by the bypass. That’s 54 acres affected by the route UDOT proposed in January. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will approve or deny UDOT’s mitigation plan.

UDOT, in the final environmental impact statement, will also respond to the over 700 comments received during the public comment period between January and March. 

“There were a lot of comments that were very similar, so there will be some aggregation,” Hancock said. “What we’ll be doing is developing a response that could go to several comments. So, when we respond to those comments, it may (refer) back to a similar comment.”

After publishing the final environmental impact statement, UDOT will submit its record of decision to the Federal Highway Administration. Then, it will determine funding sources for the project.

The alignment proposed in January was estimated to cost $760.5 million. UDOT representatives have acknowledged that costs will likely increase by the project’s horizon year of 2050.

Hancock and other UDOT representatives plan to return to the Heber City Council with another update sometime next month.

The post UDOT delays Heber Valley bypass route decision to 2027 appeared first on Park Record.

State transportation workers on Monday are expected to start repaving a stretch of S.R. 224 inside the Park City limits.

The section of the state highway slated for work runs between the Old Town roundabout and the intersection with S.R. 248, which is signed Kearns Boulevard in Park City.

It is a busy segment of Park City’s road network and involves streets that are also signed Deer Valley Drive and Park Avenue.

The Utah Department of Transportation said the work is designed “to preserve and extend the life of the roadway, improve ride quality, and maintain safe and reliable travel throughout the corridor.”

According to the department, the milling and paving are planned from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m., with work extending to 8 a.m. on Sundays. The overnight schedule is meant to reduce the impacts on traffic, the department says.

The work is anticipated to be finished in the fall. Some of the impacts expected, according to the department:

• Temporary closures of lanes and shoulders.
• Shifts in traffic.
• Lowered speeds in the work zone.
• Lighting for the crews that is directed toward the work zones.
• Construction noise at night while paving is underway.
• The temporary adjustments to routes for bicyclists and pedestrians.

The segment of S.R. 224 where the work is planned is heavily traveled by drivers heading to or from places like Old Town, Deer Valley, Prospector and the Snyderville Basin.

More information is available on the Transportation Department’s website: udotinput.utah.gov/sr224improved. Additional information is also available on the Park City municipal government’s website: parkcity.gov/?rz=newsDetails&id=292.

The post Utah transportation officials plan repaving of busy Park City highway appeared first on Park Record.

The Utah Department of Transportation is currently refining its environmental impact study for the controversial Heber Valley bypass to have a lesser impact on the North Fields where the new highway is planned.

The North Fields is a freshwater wetland area northwest of Heber City’s downtown that has seen agricultural use for generations.

Project Manager Craig Hancock told the Wasatch County Council on Wednesday that UDOT representatives visited the North Fields last month for a site visit with members of the North Fields Irrigation Company, which has controlled farmers’ water use in the area since 1860.

“Some of our team members met with them in the field, spent the morning going over some of the key historical features that they wanted to point out to us, focused primarily around historic ditches,” Hancock said. “We thought it was a very productive meeting, and we’re continuing to coordinate with them.”

Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 requires UDOT to review the adverse effects the Heber Valley bypass could have on historic properties and collaborate with stakeholders to minimize them. 

Despite having infrastructure dating back to 1860, the North Fields Irrigation Company was not invited to participate in the Section 106 analysis for the draft environmental impact statement UDOT published six months ago. The irrigation company identified this as one of 99 deficiencies with the study in a press release published in February. Now, the irrigation company is a Section 106 consulting party for the final environmental impact statement.

Hancock said that UDOT may have had “some incomplete data” about ditches in the North Fields and that the North Fields Irrigation Company plans to share “a more complete map” that UDOT can compare with its own information. 

Time will tell how collaboration with the North Fields Irrigation Company informs UDOT’s engineering and alignment of the bypass. Beyond the ditches’ historical significance, the irrigation company was also concerned that the ditches could become polluted through stormwater runoff from the bypass.

UDOT expects that mitigation measures will prevent any pollutant discharge that would significantly degrade water quality in the area. UDOT will create a mitigation plan that will be reviewed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. However, that plan will not be created until the design stage, after a final decision has been made about the highway’s alignment.

Hancock also reminded the County Council that UDOT is considering a shift in the bypass alignment further east in the North Fields. He added that UDOT recently received additional funding through the Utah Transportation Commission for further analysis, including field work and a traffic analysis.

Numerous local and state elected officials made the request to shift the bypass east in a letter they sent to UDOT in March. The letter, drafted by County Councilor Erik Rowland, argued that a re-alignment closer to U.S. 40 would avoid bisecting existing farmlands, better align with the county’s goals of establishing open space and conservation easements in the North Fields and more effectively prevent groundwater contamination. UDOT in May agreed to consider a re-alignment east.

County Councilor Luke Searle was excited to hear that UDOT is addressing the concerns of local farmers and elected officials.

“It sounds like, based on the letter we wrote, you’re hearing us,” he said. “This process is going in the right direction.”

UDOT will begin mapping wetlands in the North Fields in the next few months, Hancock said. That analysis will inform UDOT’s plan to protect at least 2 acres of wetlands, canals, ditches and perennial streams for every acre impacted, which is 54 in the current alignment. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will approve or deny that plan.

Hancock said he was unsure at this point whether UDOT will delay publishing its final environmental impact statement, which has been expected by the end of the year.

UDOT will begin determining funding sources for the bypass only after the final environmental impact statement is published and a record of decision has been made with the Federal Highway Administration. The current bypass route has an estimated price tag of $760.5 million, but that will likely change with the re-alignment. UDOT representatives have said that costs are bound to increase by the project’s horizon year of 2050.

The post UDOT working to mitigate Heber Valley bypass impacts on North Fields appeared first on Park Record.

Nestled beside the Jordanelle Reservoir, the town of Hideout is a small, secluded community that can be hard to reach by bike, bus or on foot. Town leaders hope to change that. 

Last week, Hideout announced it was awarded a $150,000 grant from the Utah Department of Transportation to develop a comprehensive transportation master plan that will focus on addressing multi-modal transportation options through town and the surrounding area. 

It’s one step closer to transportation and safety goals outlined in the town’s developing General Plan, according to Hideout Town Administrator Jan McCosh. 

“We actively pursued (the grant) because we have so much growth in the area, and we don’t want to repeat some of the errors of, say, Kimball Junction,” McCosh said, referencing high traffic. “Because of the generous size of the grant, we have excellent facilitators who have already reached out to us.”

McCosh said the transportation master plan will serve as a way to connect Hideout with nearby regions and municipalities. That includes the Silver Meadows annexation area, which will have multi-modal routes into “older” areas of Hideout. 

The master plan will address issues such as traffic and safety — necessary topics in transportation planning. Mayor Ralph Severini said the grant is a solid “first step.”

“You want planning to be your foundation,” Severini said. “We’re already working with UDOT in co-funding and co-delivering some safety improvements in town on (S.R.) 248 at the Ross Creek entrance.”

Severini said that the high-traffic area has been a safety concern for residents. 

“We’re doing some things with UDOT productively already. So, I just see this as a next stage of … multi-modal planning,” Severini said. 

The mayor has already met with UDOT officials such as Carlos Braceras to talk safety, public transportation, traffic and trails. When it comes to the $150,000 grant from UDOT, Severini said the first step, aside from planning, is addressing the most pressing needs. 

“I think it begins with integration of our community with other communities,” Severini said. “We also have a lot of priorities going forward with the town in terms of where the new developments are occurring.”

That includes the Richardson Flat and Silver Meadows development areas. 

McCosh also said the increased number of trails will benefit the active community members.

“We have a lot of active outdoor enthusiasts, a very Park City demographic who enjoy the outdoors. They enjoy snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and we want to make trails available for active transportation,” McCosh said. 

Thinking bigger, Severini said even water transportation is under consideration, given the town’s proximity to the Jordanelle Reservoir. 

“I’ve noticed the decrease in quality of life as we spend more time in traffic,” McCosh said. “I think getting the traffic plan right is very important for quality of life for all of us in the region, so I’m really pleased about this grant.”

Although Hideout is small, McCosh said residents’ needs are just as important as those in larger areas. 

“We’re a tiny city, and (this grant) allows us to professionally address traffic concerns,” McCosh said. 

Severini agreed. 

“It’s such a critical issue for all of us,” Severini said. 

The post Hideout is thinking big on transportation solutions appeared first on Park Record.

Representatives from the Utah Department of Transportation informed the Heber City Council on Tuesday that they are considering redesigning the controversial Heber Valley bypass in line with some suggestions given by Wasatch County’s elected officials. 

The new highway will divert through traffic from Heber City Main Street. UDOT’s preferred route, Alternative B, cuts through the North Fields — a freshwater wetland area that has been used as farmland for generations — between Potters Lane and 900 North instead of keeping traffic on U.S. 40 between the two roads as Alternative A does. 

UDOT’s announcement of its preferred route in January sparked division among residents that sprouted into protests during the 60-day public comment period, which ended in March. 

During that period, the Wasatch County Council wrote a letter asking that the bypass be shifted east, as close to U.S. 40 as possible, to protect the North Fields.

The letter said the realignment would prevent bisecting existing farmlands and better align with the county’s goals of preserving open space and establishing conservation easements in the North Fields. 

It also argued that the realignment would better protect groundwater. The entire project area for both route alternatives is in the contributing area to the Heber Valley Aquifer, which is part of the most protected aquifer class in Utah for its pristine water quality. 

UDOT has maintained that significant groundwater contamination will not occur because mitigation measures will be included in the design and approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

The County Council, meanwhile, believed realigning Alternative B closer to U.S. 40 would pose the least risk to the aquifer because U.S. 40 already has mitigation measures in place. 

The County Council’s letter was also signed by the Midway City Council, Charleston Mayor Doug Clements, Sen. Ronald Winterton, Rep. Mike Kohler and all members of the Heber City Council except Mike Johnston and Sid Ostergaard.

UDOT is considering “potentially shifting the North Field alignment a little bit further to the east,” said project manager Craig Hancock. They haven’t yet determined exactly how much further east that would be.

UDOT Senior Environmental Program Manager Naomi Kisen said if the bypass was “shifted all the way to close where (U.S.) 40 is,” it would perform “rather similarly” to Alternative A, which has slower travel times than Alternative B on U.S. 189, U.S. 40 and Main Street.

“Every change we make does affect our travel time. It also affects the traffic volumes that we’re pulling. It’s about trying to find that happy place, where you’re not losing too much of the performance, but you’re also kind of avoiding the impacts that you’re trying to avoid,” Kisen added. 

UDOT is implementing another design change in response to a letter sent by the City Council during the public comment period. That letter focused on local impacts, traffic and safety concerns identified by city engineer Russ Funk.

The proposed bypass design would require pedestrians and cyclists traveling on trails to take a half-mile detour to cross the Midway Lane interchange. Funk was concerned that those unwilling to take the detour would jaywalk, increasing the potential for traffic accidents.

“We’ve added in a sidewalk through that interchange, with ped(estrian) crossings across the ramps that’ll be coming in,” Hancock said. “We’ve also added in a bike lane in the shoulder of the road as well, so anybody who wants to just ride a bike through, they can do that.”

Additionally, UDOT will address the foremost of the City Council’s concerns identified in its letter. 

The raised bypass connection between the western bypass and U.S. 40, leaving the city to the southeast, runs along 1300 South in a developed area surrounded by homes and businesses. The City Council asked that the elevated roadway be shifted south into undeveloped land to minimize impacts to residents.

“We’re just evaluating it right now but just wanted to let you know that we are going to take a look at that,” Hancock said.

Heber City Mayor Heidi Franco called the potential bypass redesigns the “best news (she) could have heard.” City Councilor Yvonne Barney agreed. 

“I know a lot of the citizens are concerned, and I think there were some who felt that it was a lost cause. And they were being told by many sources that, ‘You can’t argue with UDOT. UDOT won’t listen to you, so why even bother?’” Barney told Hancock and Kisen. “I’ve always appreciated the two of you because you’ve always been very respectful and considerate of the fact that we know our citizens here are very … sensitive about the changes that are coming forward.”

UDOT plans to release its final environmental impact statement, including its final route, by the end of the year. That document will also include UDOT’s responses to questions and concerns raised in the over 700 public comments received. 

Then, UDOT will submit a record of decision to the Federal Highway Association and begin determining funding sources for the $760.5 million project — a price tag Kisen has acknowledged could increase by the project’s horizon year of 2050.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will not formally weigh in on UDOT’s plan to mitigate groundwater contamination until UDOT applies for a Section 404 permit during the design phase. 

That’s also when UDOT will come up with a plan to protect at least 2 acres of wetlands, canals, ditches and perennial streams for every acre impacted — which is 54 in Alternative B’s current design. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will also approve or deny that plan.

The post UDOT considers redesigning the Heber Valley bypass after elected officials raise concerns appeared first on Park Record.

The Wasatch County and Heber City councils are working to prevent future development in the North Fields wetlands, which have primarily been used for agriculture for generations. The collaboration is a response to the Utah Department of Transportation’s plans to build a new highway in the area to divert through traffic off of Main Street.

The councils are seeking to strengthen a 2019 memorandum stating that zone changes, municipal annexation and extension of urban services into the North Fields “should be avoided” to preserve the wetland area for agricultural use.

“I think ‘avoided’ is not a strong enough word,” said County Councilor Luke Searle at a joint meeting in February.

Since then, officials have added other strategies to preserve the North Fields to the memorandum. The updated language would create more stringent protections by restricting Heber City from expanding into the North Fields, particularly past 900 North on the west side of U.S. 40.

The current draft asks the county to zone the North Fields only for agricultural purposes, allowing only one residential unit per 20 acres. 

Additionally, the memorandum reaffirms Heber City’s commitment to preserving the land by purchasing land and conservation easements in the North Fields. 

These will be funded from the North Fields preservation fee, a one-time charge of $2,500 per unit paid by developers building in the North Village Overlay Zone. 

The zone encompasses about 95 acres at the intersection of River Road and U.S. 40, which were annexed into Heber City in December 2024. The zone and the North Fields preservation fee were established in January 2025, when the City Council approved development agreements for The Crossings and The Slope developments, the latter of which broke ground last week. 

The councils have not yet decided what portion of the North Fields to preserve. An initial map by the County Council targeted almost the entire North Fields. The City Council is more interested in preserving a slice of land between existing U.S. 40 and the bypass route, north of 900 North and south of College Way.

“I don’t intend our preservation to be little plots of land in the middle of nowhere,” City Councilor Aaron Cheatwood said during Tuesday’s meeting. “I’m really worried about everything that comes next to the highway. … I’m trying to have a developer mindset and saying, ‘If there’s a brand new road, there’s a lot of incentive to build something.’”

Cheatwood compared the conservation plan to the establishment of Central Park in New York City in that it gets ahead of future population growth and development. 

But Mayor Heidi Franco pointed out that purchasing land and establishing conservation easements in the North Fields would be a “ginormous project.” 

She estimated the land between the existing U.S. 40 and the bypass route would be valued at close to $100 million. 

“Conservation easements are usually half the value of that,” she said, pulling from her experience on the Wasatch Open Lands Board. “Of course, there’s a lot of existing residences there, too, where it could increase the costs for any conservation easements.”

The high cost of the project is why the City Council wants financial participation from the county and possibly other municipalities like Midway, Daniel and Charleston.

“If we’re going to commit in a contract, ‘This is where we’re putting our preservation fees,’ I would like the rest of the county to also participate,” said City Councilor Mike Johnston. “Of course, the county is half of Heber City, so we’re really going to give three-quarters of this.”

In recent discussions, many elected officials have questioned whether updating the memorandum will serve its intended purpose.

During the County Council’s discussion on April 1, resident Pam Patrick commented that a memorandum of understanding “does not mean a whole lot” unless it has “teeth.”

County Councilor Mark Nelson reassured her that “the county and Heber City have never been more aligned or worked more closely together.”

But as Heber City Attorney Jeremy Cook pointed out, it could be difficult to force future elected officials to honor the memorandum.

“Certainly, there are issues that we agree to, development agreements, where we do bind future city councils. But that gets very questionable with binding future city councils to policy decisions, such as, ‘We will never annex this,’” he said. 

Cook continued, “I think there are certain things that we could have in a binding agreement, like, ‘We agree that we’ll put our money in here if you guys will match it.’ And if we didn’t, then that agreement would just terminate. But we’re going to have to think seriously about whether or not we have certain language in here that binds future city councils indefinitely to a policy decision.”

Franco suggested that preventing Heber City’s annexation into the North Fields may be most effective if it is officially implemented in the city’s annexation policy. 

“(Memorandums of understanding) are like pie crust promises,” she said. “They can easily be broken.”

The memorandum of understanding will continue to be negotiated by the county and city before adoption at a later date.

The post Wasatch County, Heber City negotiate North Fields protections ahead of bypass construction appeared first on Park Record.

Just before the 60-day public comment period for the Heber Valley bypass ended on Monday, the Wasatch County Council sent its letter to the Utah Department of Transportation rejecting Alternative B for the Heber Valley bypass, which cuts through the North Fields between Potters Lane and 900 North instead of keeping traffic on U.S. 40 between those two roads.

The letter drafted by Wasatch County Councilor Erik Rowland asks that Alternative B be shifted east as close to U.S. 40 as possible to avoid bisecting existing farmlands, complicating open space bonds and potentially threatening the water quality of the underlying Heber Valley aquifer, which belongs to the most protected aquifer class in Utah.

The letter was signed with the support of the Midway City Council, which unanimously agreed to sign the letter during an emergency meeting on Friday with support from public commenters, all of whom spoke in favor of the signing.

That’s in stark contrast to Rowland’s presentation to the Heber City Council about the same subject last week. The letter drew a wide array of opinions from city councilors, staff and public commenters, which led the City Council to decide to allow elected representatives to sign the letter as individuals rather than a governing body.

Heber City Mayor Heidi Franco and City Councilors Yvonne Barney, Aaron Cheatwood and Morgan Murdock signed the letter, citing the same concerns that Rowland had listed. 

Murdock was undecided as of the council meeting last Tuesday but ultimately decided to sign it because he agreed with the letter’s goal “to ensure that the final corridor selection is legally durable, environmentally responsible and reflective of the values of the community it will serve.”

City Councilors Sid Ostergaard and Mike Johnston were the only elected representatives in the county who did not sign the letter, saying that they did not share the Wasatch County Council’s environmental concerns and believed Alternative B to be the best long-term traffic solution.

The pair, along with many Heber City residents who spoke against the letter, argued that presenting another potential route would delay the new highway, which was discussed locally for decades before it became an official project in 2019. 

The Midway City Council sang a different tune.

“If doing the right thing causes a delay, it is what it is,” said Midway City Councilor Andy Garland. “Once that aquifer is disrupted and changed, yeah, you can have water there. It might not be drinkable. The ripple effect of what they’re proposing doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

Rowland said that the purpose of the letter is not to delay the project but to identify missing analyses in UDOT’s draft environmental impact statement, ask follow-up questions and present potential solutions — which, he pointed out, is exactly the kind of public comment UDOT has asked for, rather than one that simply criticizes the project.

Rowland pointed to recent litigation by conservation groups against the Northern Corridor highway in Washington County as an example of how UDOT “can use feedback.”

A federal judge ordered last week that UDOT halt construction on the highway, which would cut through part of the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. The area serves as the habitat for some Mojave desert tortoises, classified as a threatened species by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

“We don’t want to delay this, but if the solution that’s currently on the table is going to result in years and years of litigation because of oversight and things that they’ve missed, why can’t we point that out? And that’s what this letter is designed to do, is say, ‘Hey, there might be some mistakes. Take a look at this, and let’s work together,” Rowland said. 

He later clarified that Wasatch County, Midway and Heber City have no intention of filing a lawsuit against UDOT but that litigation could arise from private groups, organizations or property owners.

Midway City Councilor JC Simonsen pointed out that environmental protections will be the “trump card” in any potential litigation that results from the project — a good reason to emphasize groundwater protection as the letter’s primary concern.

UDOT has promised to answer all substantive public comments in its final draft environmental impact statement, which will also include UDOT’s final route choice. UDOT plans to publish that statement in the late summer. 

Rowland said how UDOT responds to the letter’s concerns will inform the next actions Wasatch County takes.

“If they seem responsive, if they’re listening and say, ‘Hey, good point. We’ll consider this,’ or if it’s dismissed, we’ll kind of start to know what we need to do next,” he said.

Midway city councilors hope the letter will sway UDOT’s final decision.

“I’ve been saying it for a year to people who would listen,” Simonsen said. “Our best bet, I think, at getting influence to UDOT is to band together.”

UDOT Communications Manager Wyatt Woolley confirmed receipt of the letter on Monday and said that the UDOT had met with the Wasatch County and Heber City leaders about the letter before it had been submitted.

“All comments are considered as part of the process and are evaluated based on the issues raised, not on who submitted them,” he said.

The letter was one of over 300 comments received over the 90 days. UDOT Project Manager Craig Hancock will share an exact tally of the number of comments and common themes during the Wasatch County Council’s work meeting at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The post Wasatch County Council sends letter to UDOT rejecting highway through North Fields appeared first on Park Record.

Before the Utah Department of Transportation’s public comment period for the Heber Valley bypass ends on March 9, Heber City Councilors Yvonne Barney and Aaron Cheatwood and Mayor Heidi Franco will be signing the Wasatch County Council’s letter to UDOT rejecting its preferred route.

That route, Alternative B, cuts through the North Fields between Potters Lane and 900 North instead of keeping traffic on U.S. 40 between those two roads, as Alternative A does. The letter asks that Alternative B be shifted east, running as close to U.S. 40 as possible.

That’s similar to North Fields Irrigation Company’s request. It has controlled water use in the North Fields since 1860. 

Since 2022, board members have met privately with UDOT representatives and urged them not to build the bypass in the North Fields. But UDOT identified Alternative B as its preferred route in January.

In response, North Fields Irrigation Company submitted a public comment outlining 99 deficiencies with the route and asked UDOT to choose Alternative A or to realign Alternative B as close to U.S. 40 as possible.

North Fields Irrigation Company Vice President Ed Clyde owns about 75 acres in the North Fields that have been in his family for seven generations. During last Saturday’s protest against the bypass, Clyde explained that realigning Alternative B closer to U.S. 40 would likely result in the highway cutting straight through a small piece of his property. 

“But I don’t care,” he said. “I want to help with that if it’ll save the North Fields.”

Wasatch County’s letter, drafted by Wasatch County Councilor Erik Rowland, shares Clyde’s mission.

The letter argues that the North Fields deserve protection for their historical significance, pointing to Heber City and Wasatch County actions, municipal planning and voter initiatives as evidence. 

One of these pieces of evidence was a joint comment submitted by Heber City and Wasatch County in July 2022 urging UDOT not to build the bypass in the North Fields.

“(The North Fields) represents the broad patterns of Wasatch County’s agricultural heritage and rural character; properties included in the North Fields include those of locally significant historical persons; and the North Fields represents a collectively distinguishable entity valued by the public as being of locally significant historical value,” the 2022 letter says.

Rowland’s letter also argues that the realignment of Alternative B would be more compatible with Wasatch County’s goals of protecting open space and establishing conservation easements while also protecting water quality.

In both alternatives A and B, the entire project area of the Heber Valley bypass lies within the contributing area to the Heber Valley Aquifer, which belongs to the most protected aquifer class in Utah because of its pristine water quality.

The Wasatch County Council’s letter argues the bypass would threaten groundwater through several ways: highway stormwater infiltration, de-icing chemicals, long-term pollutant migration and spill risks. It argues that realigning Alternative B closer to U.S. 40 poses the least risk to the aquifer because U.S. 40 already has mitigation measures in place.

But realigning Alternative B closer to U.S. 40 could result in the sacrifice of existing properties along the highway.

“This is a hard solution … because it does directly affect people on Highway 40. I haven’t had the chance to talk with all those property owners. I’ll do that personally, and I’m hoping to in the coming months,” Rowland said. “Some have proactively approached me and said, ‘We understand that, yes, our home will be targeted, but we also understand … that we’re taking one for the team. We don’t want the North Fields to be affected.’”

The idea of sacrificing existing properties to preserve the North Fields received mixed responses from public commenters.

“Is this representative government? You don’t talk to the people that you impact? It galls me to think that’s what we’ve turned into,” said Neil Richardson, a North Fields landowner.

Meanwhile, Kevin Connelly, who has lived in Heber City for 48 years, was in favor of the realignment.

“No matter what route this takes, somebody is going to be affected by it. That’s an unfortunate reality when you build a highway,” he said. “Preserve those beautiful North Fields because once they’re gone, they’re gone forever.”

Rowland’s letter was controversial among the City Council, city staff and the public.

Rowland said that he used AI to analyze UDOT’s draft environmental impact study before he wrote the letter, and he encouraged others to do the same. Former Heber City Council candidate Corey Noyes called this confirmation bias based on the premise that Alternative B is the wrong choice. He referred to the Wasatch County Council’s letter as “a small group of non-experts using artificial intelligence to poke holes through (the study).”

Many who spoke out against the realignment did so out of fear that it could further delay the bypass, which has been the talk of the town for decades and became an official project in 2019.

“This community sometimes has a tendency to push back on things until we don’t get what is actually needed,” said City Engineer Russ Funk. “Main Street traffic is terrible. … It is a blight on our community, and it does need to be fixed.”

He added that he believed Alternative B was a longer-term traffic solution than Alternative A and that he was not concerned about the degradation of water quality in the Heber Valley Aquifer.

“I do not see a difference (between) moving the road over by Highway 40 or moving the road out in the middle (of the North Fields). You are going to have the same impacts with the water,” he said. “And to be fully honest with you, the biggest threat(s) to water quality in the North Fields (are) cows and agriculture.”

Heber City resident Linda Middleton pushed back, asking if agriculture was Funk’s “speciality,” and he admitted it was not.

City Councilor Mike Johnston agreed that cattle posed a greater threat to water quality in the North Fields than the bypass, along with the rest of Funk’s comments. 

“I’m not worried about many of the things that (Rowland) listed in here,” he said. “(UDOT had) six years to do it, and I think they’ve done a pretty thorough job.”

City Councilor Sid Ostergaard agreed that the project needed to “stay the course.” He was not concerned about environmental impacts and believed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would hold UDOT to a sufficient standard for environmental protections.

Johnston and Ostergaard’s refusal to sign the letter led to a motion by City Councilor Yvonne Barney to allow elected officials to sign the letter as individuals instead of signing it as a governing body. Her motion passed unanimously. 

Barney and Franco will sign the letter. Both were reelected in November and ran on campaigns that emphasized protecting open space and water quality. They also were the only members of the Heber City Council to join the protest against the bypass last Saturday.

Cheatwood will also sign the letter.

“One of the things that I was asked when I was running for this office was, do I support a bypass through the North Fields? And my answer then was no, but if it was the best route, I would support it because the best route, the thing that impacts the most citizens, is important to me,” he said. “I still feel that way. I look at that map, and I just can’t imagine why the option we got as option B went right through the middle (of the North Fields).”

Cheatwood cited the bisecting of farms and potential decline of agriculture in the North Fields as reasons he was against Alternative B. He added that realigning the route closer to U.S. 40 could mitigate development pressure in the North Fields.

UDOT has promised to prevent any transportation access in the North Fields other than the bypass, but many opponents of Alternative B have doubted that UDOT and the Wasatch County and Heber City councils could resist developing in the North Fields in perpetuity if a highway were built there.

City Councilor Morgan Murdock, who was elected in November, has not yet made a decision as to whether to sign the letter. He said his biggest reservation was potentially delaying the project.

He said after the meeting that he would be doing more research into UDOT’s draft environmental impact study and asking Rowland further questions. 

During the 2025 municipal election, Murdock was the only one of the six candidates for mayor or City Council on the November ballot who did not publicly identify whether he preferred Alternative A or B for the bypass. He maintained the position that he was continuing to research the issue.

The post Some Heber City officials will sign letter to UDOT proposing a new bypass route appeared first on Park Record.

The Heber City Council is joining Wasatch County residents in providing feeback during the Utah Department of Transportation’s 60-day public comment period on its proposed Heber Valley bypass west of the city, which is intended to improve traffic flow and walkability on Main Street. 

The City Council has drafted a letter to UDOT, which members and Mayor Heidi Franco signed on Tuesday. The letter does not criticize the alternative chosen, which cuts through the North Fields, but instead focuses on local impacts and traffic and safety concerns identified by city engineer Russ Funk.

The foremost concern was the location of the connection between the western bypass and U.S. 40 leaving the city to the southeast. The raised bypass connection runs along 1300 South in a developed area surrounded by homes and businesses.

Concern about the connection was first raised on Jan. 16, when UDOT representatives presented a rendering of the area to the City Council. Franco asked whether landowners in the area would be compensated for potential declines in their property values, and UDOT senior environmental program manager Naomi Kisen said they would not.

The letter asks UDOT to consider moving the connection further south into undeveloped land to reduce impacts and potentially eliminate some of the costs of a raised roadway and underpasses. 

Another concern was trail access at the Midway Lane interchange. If the bypass is built as proposed, pedestrians or cyclists would have to take a half-mile detour to travel through the interchange. If people are unwilling to take the detour, they may cross roads illegally, leading to increased traffic risk. Heber City’s proposed solutions include the addition of bike lanes and pedestrian walkways either underneath or elevated above the intersection.

Other traffic concerns included better ease of access to Walmart and College Way.

Funk and the City Council hope that their letter allows residents to echo their concerns in their own public comments. The letter is available to read in the agenda materials for the Tuesday City Council meeting.

The public comment period for the Heber Valley bypass ends on March 9. Residents can submit comments via the website hebervalleyeis.udot.utah.gov, phone (801-210-0498), email hebervalleyeis@utah.gov or mail addressed to “Heber Valley Corridor EIS c/o HDR” at 2825 E. Cottonwood Parkway #200, Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121.

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The number of people weaving in and out of a small Wasatch County High School lecture hall to provide their public comments was just one traffic concern raised at the Utah Department of Transportation’s open house for the Heber Valley bypass.

A stenographer recorded 37 verbal public comments on Tuesday, most asking that UDOT reconsider its preferred Alternative B, which cuts through the North Fields between Potters Lane and 900 North. 

Alternative B is estimated at $760.5 million, but UDOT Senior Environmental Program Manager Naomi Kisen acknowledged that costs could increase by the project’s horizon year of 2050. The state has not determined funding sources for the bypass.

The transportation project’s purpose is to divert through traffic off of Heber City’s Main Street, improving regional and local mobility on U.S. 40 while improving opportunities for nonmotorized transportation downtown.

Some pleaded that UDOT choose Alternative A, which would keep traffic on U.S. 40 until 900 North instead. Others suggested UDOT come up with a third alternative. Many asked whether a bypass was really necessary.

“Did anybody have trouble getting here on Main Street tonight?” community member Mark Blosil asked a group of Wasatch County residents gathered around a map of the proposed route. The answer, in his opinion, was no.

“It’s not a traffic problem. It’s a habit problem,” added resident Stephanie Wilcox. “I came from Southern California. You knew, at certain times of day, you don’t go this way. You don’t go that way.”

Community member Laurie Gagan chimed in, “You can’t tell me somebody can’t leave their house five minutes early.” 

Several people paraphrased a quote from UDOT Executive Director Carlos Braceras, who, at an October 2024 County Council meeting, said 25% of Main Street congestion is caused by through traffic.

“The only people who benefit from this bypass are people who don’t live here,” commented resident Todd Hicken. “Why are we spending a billion dollars on someone that we don’t even know?”

Residents who spoke offered creative solutions to Main Street’s traffic problems, ranging from improving public transportation to fining truckers driving on Main Street during the daytime to hiring Elon Musk’s Boring Company to dig tunnels under the city.

Heber City Mayor Heidi Franco and several other commenters argued the bypass may not effectively divert diesel trucks off of Main Street because there is no way to require that they use the bypass instead. Besides, Main Street provides the opportunity to fill up on gas or grab a bite to eat. 

But community member David Nelson, who was one of only a handful who spoke in favor of Alternative B, said he believed a trucker would take the bypass route for the time savings. 

UDOT estimates travel time on the bypass from S.R. 32 to U.S. 189 to be six minutes and 15 seconds. Travel time from S.R. 32 to U.S. 40 is estimated to be six minutes and 55 seconds. Both times are about four minutes quicker than UDOT’s estimated travel time on Main Street from S.R. 32 to the intersection of U.S. 189 and U.S. 40.

Nelson also thought trucks taking the bypass route would improve air quality in downtown because they would no longer be idling at traffic lights on Main Street as they traveled through the city.

But many residents were more concerned about water quality, raising concerns that development of the bypass could discharge pollutants into a vital source of drinking water in Wasatch County.

Both bypass alternatives are located above the Heber Valley Aquifer, which is classified as Class 1A. Groundwater from such an aquifer has very few pollutants, with concentrations of total dissolved solids below 500 milligrams per liter. 

Utah State Code states that Class 1A groundwater “will be protected to the maximum extent feasible from degradation” and provides additional guidelines around preventing the discharge of pollutants into the groundwater. 

Appendix 2F of UDOT’s draft environmental impact statement for the Heber Valley Bypass details how UDOT plans to comply with the Clean Water Act Section 404(b)(1) requirement that “no discharge of dredged or fill material shall be permitted if there is a practicable alternative to the proposed discharge which would have less adverse impact on the aquatic ecosystem.”

UDOT claims that through avoidance, minimization and mitigation measures, including controlling erosion and sediment, maintaining hydrologic connectivity, restoring temporary impacts and providing compensatory mitigation for permanent impacts, “discharges from either alternative would not cause or contribute to significant degradation of the waters of the United States.”

UDOT Project Manager Craig Hancock said, “It’s a concern that we protect the water aquifers, and when we design our projects, we do look at mitigating that and making sure that those contaminants don’t reach into the groundwater.”

He added that some of the specific mitigations will be addressed when the project moves to the design phase.

Constructing either bypass alternative will require a Section 404 permit application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Alternative B impacts 54 acres of canals, ditches, perennial streams and wetlands in the marshy North Fields. UDOT has promised to protect at least two acres for every acre impacted. 

UDOT Region Three Communications Director Wyatt Woolley clarified UDOT will not develop a specific mitigation plan until the project moves into the design phase.

“This could include restoring or enhancing wetlands, preserving existing wetlands or purchasing credits from approved mitigation banks, depending on availability and site sustainability. Any mitigation plan would be coordinated with potential willing landowners and submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for review and final approval,” Woolley said.

UDOT also promised to prevent any further transportation access in the wetland area by not issuing permits to anyone seeking to create additional road access.

But resident Christian Heimburger was skeptical that UDOT could fend developers off from the North Fields in perpetuity.

“Businesses, especially gas stations, fast food restaurants and hotels will flock to the interchanges,” he said. “By building a bypass in a largely undeveloped area, the state is, unwittingly or not, building a powerful magnet for new development.”

Many described that undeveloped area as sacred.

Mimi Nuelle from Northfield Stables listed the wildlife she’d seen while riding her steed in the area: bald eagles, deer, moose, foxes and sandhill cranes.

Farmer Robert Hicken owns 25 acres in the North Fields, and the bypass will run straight through his land if Alternative B is built. He read his family’s Homestead Land Grant, signed by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1862. 

The travel times on bypass Alternative B are all about a minute faster than Alternative A. Hicken pleaded, “Let’s not sell our soul for 60 seconds.”

At the end of the night, many residents questioned whether their public comments would make a difference. 

“UDOT seems to think, since they work for the state, they can do whatever they want. This is our community. We built this town,” said an impassioned Dennis Van Leeuwin. “What upsets me is it doesn’t matter what any of you say. If you think the comments tonight are going to change UDOT’s mind, you’re mistaken.”

Wilcox offered a different perspective. She’s involved in Can’t Bypass the Truth, a citizens’ group opposing Alternative B, with members from conservation groups like Preserve Midway, Friends of Heber Valley and Utah Open Lands. 

“Nothing is ever a done deal,” Wilcox said. “That’s what everybody has to learn.”

The public open house was the sole opportunity to provide in-person comments before the 90-day comment period ends March 9. Comments can still be made via the website hebervalleyeis.udot.utah.gov, phone at 801-210-0498, email at hebervalleyeis@utah.gov or mail addressed to “Heber Valley Corridor EIS c/o HDR” at 2825 E. Cottonwood Parkway #200, Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121.

Woolley explained comments that are likely to influence the final decision would need to include the identification of factual errors or areas where analysis needs to be corrected or refined, previously unidentified impacts to important environmental, cultural or community resources or well-supported ideas to modify an existing alternative or propose a new alternative that better meets the project’s purpose and need and that was not evaluated in earlier stages.

Following the public comment period, UDOT will respond to all public comments in its final environmental impact statement.

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