The major roads that go east-west are already running at capacity, Park said. UDOT is studying whether to add additional lanes to roads such as 5400 South. Intersection improvements are also planned, and the agency is studying whether some east-west state roads could be turned into one-way streets, which would allow more traffic to filter through an area.

Beyond those possibilities, "there will have to be major improvements," Park said.

He said he thinks that "energy" is building to start a major discussion about east-west traffic in Salt Lake County but that residents and lawmakers will have to weigh whether a new road and better traffic are worth the impacts to homes and businesses. Unlike the Mountain View Corridor, where some land has been reserved as a route for the highway, no land has been preserved for a new east-west route.

And homes and businesses abut most east-west traffic arteries in the valley. The question is, Park said, "are we at the point where quality of life will suffer because of limited east-west mobility?"

He added, "Would an east-west freeway be a good option? Yes. But one of the reasons we haven't looked at it is because of the impacts."

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com