Realignment of canyon road sought

ALTA — Two ski resorts and the town of Alta have asked the Utah Transportation Commission to consider spending about $40 million to realign Little Cottonwood Road.

The proposed adjustment of the approximately nine-mile-long middle section of the road (U-210) would move the highway to the south and out of the path of about a dozen slide areas.

The goal of the realignment would be to prevent potential accidents and deaths from avalanches, further improve safety by reducing the incline of the road — which has the highest avalanche danger rating of any road in North America — and make it more accessible in the winter months.

"The fact is we have a road that doesn't work for us," Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort president and chief executive officer Bob Bonar told the commission Friday. "There's a lot more close calls (potential accidents) than any of you know about. It is something that we really need to work on. . . . (it's) close to impossible to keep it safe."

The commission took no formal vote, but commission chairman Glen Brown asked Utah Department of Transportation staff to look into the cost and potential funding for an extensive study of the realignment.

"I think the need has been demonstrated," UDOT executive director John Njord said after the presentation. "The costs are big. The challenges are large. But I don't think it's something we can discount and say, 'That's not our problem.' "

The preliminary design and engineering work presented Friday at the commission's monthly meeting, held at the Alta Lodge, was conducted by the Little Cottonwood Canyon Road Committee — a coalition of the two ski resorts, the town, and state and Salt Lake County officials.

One problem with the proposal is that, as designed, a large section of the new road would cut through the Lone Peak Wilderness Area. The proposed new alignment would also go through U.S. Forest Service property and require significant alterations to the mountain terrain.

"We have a difficult time building roads in canyons," Brown cautioned. That environmental concern further prompted Brown to joke, "Will we live long enough to get a permit?"

Onno Wieringa, general manager of Alta Ski Lifts, told Brown he does not believe the environmental issues are insurmountable. Already, Wieringa said, preliminary discussions with the environmental group Save Our Canyons has resulted in a willingness by the group to consider the alternate alignment as something that could improve safety and enhance enjoyment of the canyon.