5 big factors in the location of Mountain View Corridor

Engineers don't quite know where the road will go, but the public can now "draw their own conclusions" as to where a section of the Mountain View Corridor should be built.

After more than a year of study, the Utah Department of Transportation has come up with five factors that distinguish two proposed routes for the road in western Salt Lake County. Over the coming months, UDOT engineers will study those factors, take in public comment and then decide where they want the road to be built: 5800 West or 7200 West.

Studies continue on four alternatives for the Utah County portion of the road.

"It's at the point now where people can draw their own conclusions about which one is better," said TeriAnne Newell, UDOT project manager for the Mountain View Corridor. "We've had our alternatives laid out for quite some time and we've been gathering all the impact information. Now we've tabulated all of that and we're trying to see what that's telling us."

The five differentiating factors are as follows:

• Cost: Is one alignment more expensive than another? UDOT says the 5800 West route will cost $70 million more to build than the route along 7200 West. "It's not a huge difference, but it is a difference," said Newell. With either alignment, overall cost of the road will exceed $1.1 billion.

• Historic properties: Will more historic properties be taken with one alignment? Ten historic buildings will be taken along 5800 West. Only five will be taken if it's built along 7200 West. Although 7200 West requires fewer property relocations, the impact could still be more significant, according to Newell.

"You can't just say it goes by the numbers," she said. "It depends on the type of house it is."

• Performance: How does the road perform from a transportation perspective? Will one be used more than another? UDOT says that 5800 West performs better, but the difference in performance is "not a huge thing," according to Newell.

• Tolling: Where would a toll road work better? Should it be a toll road? The 5800 West alignment will draw more traffic, but it costs more to build.

• Local input: Where do municipalities want the road? Over the coming months, UDOT will meet with city officials to see where they want to road to be built. Salt Lake County, Salt Lake City, Magna and West Valley are on the meeting list.

"One of the pieces of the puzzle we need to understand is what all of the cities make of this," said Newell.