Mountain View Corridor proposals draw lots of opinions

PROVO — Utah Department of Transportation officials are reviewing and responding to comments made by residents about the Mountain View Corridor alignments.

UDOT recently held public meetings about the corridor for comments from residents before it hands the documents over to the Federal Highway Administration.

Residents attended public hearings in West Jordan, West Valley City and Lehi to find out more about the project and add comments.

"I'm pleased they're making progress (with a) plan of action and going forward and asking for community input," said Cameron Davidson, a Saratoga Springs resident.

Other area residents had different things to say.

"I'm kind of worried about the route on 2100 North," said Paul Neal, a Lehi resident. "It will disturb a whole lot of things and divide the town. I prefer 4800 North."

Hundreds of residents like Davidson and Neal gave their opinions to UDOT at the public meetings in hopes of supporting a route or changing a decision about it.

The study proposed three possible alignments the corridor could take from Interstate 80 in Salt Lake County to Utah County. UDOT encourages all residents to express their opinions, which will be taken into account, said Geoff Dupaix, Region 3 spokesman for UDOT.

Public outreach has been a major concern for UDOT since the project's inception, especially through the different possible recommendations, such as tolling options. The corridor is to have six lanes with auxiliary exit-only lanes.

Routes for all three proposed options would come into Utah County near Redwood Road but would connect to Interstate 15 at different places. In UDOT's preferred option, the corridor would come down through 2100 North in Lehi and connect to the freeway. The second option would have the corridor run west of Redwood Road, turn and parallel Utah Lake and tie into the freeway at Pleasant Grove. In the third option, the corridor would split into arterials — five-lane roads at the southern edge of Salt Lake County near Bluffdale — and come through 2100 North and 1900 South, ending at Main Street in Lehi.

Lehi proposed another option to UDOT to have the corridor connect to the freeway at 4800 North, an option the Lehi City Council and mayor argue would be cheaper and better for the residents. Lehi argues the preferred 2100 North option would cut through a residential neighborhood.

UDOT received Lehi's proposal several weeks ago and is still reviewing it, Dupaix said.

"If it's a viable option we'll include it as a supplement," he said. "If not, we'll move forward with the document."