Mountain View Corridor will be built in phases, new statement says

A newly released environmental impact statement shows the Mountain View Corridor will be built in phases and the highway will initially have two lanes in each direction before expanding to four lanes in each direction.

The Utah Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration released the final statement Friday. The public can view it through Oct. 26 at local libraries or at www.udot.utah.gov/mountainview. The most recent draft statement was available three months ago, and the public, including environmental groups, commented on it.

Cameron Cova, co-founder of Utah Moms for Clean Air, was happy with the changes made in the final statement. "For our membership, it was eight lanes being so close to those schools without any real ways to mitigate against those pollution concerns," she said.

The final statement provides money for air filters along the corridor and offers to purchase land to move an elementary school that is close to the corridor.

UDOT is awaiting a final "record of decision" approval from the Federal Highway Administration before it can begin building the highway, which will span from 2100 North in Lehi to I-80 in Salt Lake City. In western Salt Lake County, the highway runs along 5800 West. Originally the corridor did not have any public transportation but now there are plans for a designated rapid-transit bus lane.

"Then we'll wait to see where the funding is," UDOT spokesman Nile Easton said. "And as we get the funding, we can start building."

The project is estimated to cost $3 billion. UDOT has $330 million to begin building. "We're still trying to see which piece will be built first. ... Whether it's 2100 North in Lehi or the piece in South Jordan, we're still working through those things," Easton said.

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E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com