West Valley residents in limbo over road

WEST VALLEY CITY — More than 200 residents gathered here at an open house Wednesday night to talk about the Mountain View Corridor and see if their homes would be demolished by the proposed highway.

Most left without any definitive answers.

Although the Utah Department of Transportation announced in December that it prefers to build the highway at 5800 West, the agency still has a year's worth of studies to finish before a route for the road is officially selected. And then, more than $2 billion in funding must be found before the road is built.

Residents won't know whether to sell their home or stay until the studies are done and funding obtained.

"It's like someone is putting a gun to your head and saying 'go with the flow,"' said Jeff Thurman, a West Valley resident.

Thurman and his neighbor, Brenda Todd, both attended Wednesday's open house, which was held at Hunter High School. The two live just west of the school, at almost 5800 West.

Todd said she first heard about Mountain View in 1994 and is still waiting for an answer as to whether the road will be built, and where.

"They're going to put this on hold until I'm 90 and I will still be waiting," she said.

Teri Newell, UDOT project manager for Mountain View, said Wednesday that the state was aware of the limbo that residents were in, but that it was trying its best to keep people informed.

Wednesday's open house was called as a way to allow residents to comment on the latest information about Mountain View, Newell said. In December, UDOT announced that it preferred the road be built at 5800 West, instead of a route along 7200 West.

The state Transportation Commission, in addition to West Valley City, also endorsed 5800 West as the best route for the road. With 5800 West, only 141 acres of wetlands will be affected in comparison with 187 acres of wetlands at 7200 West.

A total of 179 homes, 20 businesses and 11 historic properties will be impacted if Mountain View is built at 5800 West. If built at 7200 West, a total of 224 homes, 24 businesses and four historic properties would be affected.

West Valley mayor Dennis Nordfelt said that his city picked 5800 West as its preferred route for Mountain View because it would carry greater traffic from his city than the 7200 West route.