East-West Connector route is sounding good to Lehi

OREM — While Utah's Department of Transportation and the city of Lehi remain at odds over plans to build the Mountain View Corridor, a new road has both entities ready to cooperate.

UDOT is planning to build an East-West Connector route from the Main Street I-15 interchange in American Fork to Redwood Road in Saratoga Springs and, so far, Lehi approves of the plans.

The five-to-seven-lane, limited-access road will most likely follow a route along 1000 South in Lehi that the city has been preserving for years, although a specific path has not yet been identified.

The connector, which will be designed to alleviate traffic along state Route 73 — Lehi Main Street — is included in the city's own transportation plans.

"This is one of the few roads that got in there ahead of the residents and they blocked out the right of way for it so the residents knew about it when they came in," said Lehi Mayor Howard Johnson. "This is something that Lehi wants to see done."

Details on the road will be discussed at a UDOT-sponsored open house today at Snow Springs Elementary School in Lehi, but the road has already generated a lot of interest, Johnson said. The mayor said he has already received letters from residents who want to see the road "done tomorrow."

UDOT Project Manager Bryan Adams said the road won't be completed as soon as that, but it will be fast-tracked because it is already fully funded with state money. Adams said the $135 million UDOT received from the state will pay for an environmental impact study on the road as well as construction. Not using federal funds will speed the process along, Adams said.

The project should be finished no later than 2011, Adams said, which is sooner than the controversial Mountain View Corridor will be completed. However, an alignment for the road has not yet been chosen.

Factors such as existing developments and wetlands surrounding Utah Lake and the Jordan River will be considered in developing an alignment, Adams said.

"We'll be looking at multiple options of where that alignment could go," Adams said. "We'll look at what alternatives will relieve the most traffic and have the least impact to wetlands in the area."

Adams said the environmental study for the road will also consider mass transit options and the possibility of connecting commuter rail to the Saratoga Springs area.