West Kaysville residents poised to argue with UDOT about proposed highway

KAYSVILLE — Davis County homeowners upset with a proposed four-lane highway that would lead to their homes being torn down, will be able to vent their frustrations to Utah Department of Transportation officials this week.

None of the three newly announced alternatives under consideration would protect all existing residential properties. UDOT would need to acquire at least 98 residential properties and one business to build out the 24-mile long roadway that would travel from Centerville to Marriott-Slaterville between the Great Salt Lake on the west to I-15 on the east.

"I don't want to move," said resident Sara Thatcher. "This is ridiculous what they're doing. I'm frustrated. I'm very angry!"

"(We're) not asking them to tear down anyone else's home, we just want them to move the project to the west," she added. "Because they are not willing to push bugs or birds out a little bit farther (west), they're going to take our homes."

Kaysville mayor Steve Hiatt said the plan gives more priority to the environmental impact the road would have to low-level wetlands than the social impact of destroying an entire neighborhood.

The Conservation Chair of Utah's Sierra Club, Dan Mayhew, said any highway expansion would be unfortunate for both residents and wildlife. At minimum, the project would require 36 acres of wetlands, 11 archaeological sites and 31 acres of high quality wildlife habitat.  

"We would not support any alignment that destroys habitat and or wetlands," Mayhew said.

The Sierra Club has not taken an official position on the proposed highway but will after ramifications of the project become more clear, Mayhew added.    

UDOT said the road is needed to mitigate projected traffic growth through the year 2040. But residents in a west Kaysville community that sits in the proposed construction zone believe the plan would devastate their neighborhood and destroy property values.

A study is being conducted to determine which of three alternatives under consideration would minimize the impacts to property owners and the surrounding natural environment. 

If transportation options aren't built, a recent environmental impact study points out that the more than 303,000 in population will be road-blocked in about three decades.