UDOT presents refined Heber Valley EIS alternatives; landowners raise access and right-of-way concerns

Utah Department of Transportation staff briefed the Wasatch County Open Lands Board on refinements to alternatives for the Heber Valley Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), including a new grade-separated "free-flow" option that would use interchanges and ramps to connect a Northfields bypass to North 40 near Potter Lane and to SR-32.

UDOT told the board it is modifying five previously studied alternatives to meet 2025 traffic demand. The agency said it expects to publish a screening report in early spring, then prepare a draft EIS for public review this fall (including a 45-day comment period and public hearing), with a final EIS and record of decision expected in spring 2026.

The refinements fall into two categories: (1) at-grade changes that add lanes on US-40 and intersection turn lanes and (2) grade-separated "free-flow" options with interchanges, bridges and direct-connect ramps that would reduce stoplights and improve travel times. UDOT presenters said the free-flow options would increase footprints at interchanges and therefore require larger rights-of-way in those locations. UDOT staff explained that, for some free-flow designs, the preferred tie-in shifts southward so ramps can meet spacing and design criteria; that is one reason some draft alignments shown to the board differ from earlier maps.

Landowners and board members raised immediate concerns. Farmers said a grade-separated bypass and lack of frontage roads or local on/off ramps could sever fields, impede movement of hay wagons and livestock and split farm operations in ways that make routine agricultural work impractical. One landowner told the board that heavy equipment, hay wagons and livestock crossings would face new safety and operational challenges if access is limited to bridges and overpasses with no adjacent frontage roads.

UDOT acknowledged those concerns and said the briefing was preliminary; the agency pledged to share revised shapefiles after the screening report and to engage further with landowners and county staff. UDOT also said alignments and minor footprint changes could be adjusted between the screening report and the draft EIS to reduce identified impacts (for example, by shifting ramps or shrinking footprints where feasible).

Board members pressed UDOT on specific design elements, including whether acceleration/deceleration lanes or turn-lane improvements would be required at intersections such as 900 North, Coyote Lane Parkway, Wasatch Commons, University Avenue and River Road; the presenter said intersection improvements are planned and that permit/permit-office requirements will determine specific acceleration/deceleration lane needs for interim development.

The presentation prompted the board to ask UDOT to coordinate parcel-level data with county staff and land-conservation partners, and to host follow-up meetings with landowners after the agency publishes its screening report so affected property owners can review proposed alignments before the draft EIS.