UDOT presents Tooele Valley Connectivity study, urges corridor preservation and local network upgrades

The Utah Department of Transportation on Oct. 7 briefed the Tooele County Council on the Tooele Valley Connectivity Study and urged county and municipal officials to preserve corridors and coordinate local street connections as the valley grows.

UDOT planning manager Jeff DuPay said the study shows the state and local network already struggles in places and will face significantly higher congestion if improvements are not made. “One of the key takeaways we want you to take into consideration is the conditions today on the local and the state network in some locations are struggling,” DuPay said.

UDOT and its central-office project manager, Travis Hair, told the council the study used local growth inputs from cities and the county to model travel demand out to 2050. The modeling produced three illustrative outcomes: current network conditions, a 2032 scenario with planned local improvements, and a 2050 scenario that includes multiple widenings and segments of the Mid Valley Highway. UDOT’s statewide model found daily vehicle-hours traveled rising from roughly 33,000 today to 53,000 by 2032 under a basic-build scenario, and to roughly 104,000 by 2050 in the model runs that include all planned widenings and segments. Reported network delay climbed from about 6% today to 8% in 2032 and as high as 18% in the full 2050 scenario.

Why it matters: UDOT said the county’s future mobility will…