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UDOT outlines highway improvements and rail‑with‑trail changes affecting Wasatch County
Summary
UDOT engineers briefed the Planning Commission on Highway 40 and 189 improvement options, funding shortfalls, and a rail‑with‑trail alignment change after the Provo River Mitigation Commission denied a boardwalk on mitigation land.
UDOT updated the Wasatch County Planning Commission on a suite of transportation projects and a linked regional trail, saying alternative screening for bypass options is set for spring 2025 and a final environmental impact statement (EIS) for a selected alternative is expected in spring 2026. The county staff summarized planned improvements intended to keep Highway 40 a higher‑speed facility through grade‑separated alternatives and to widen sections of Highway 189 into town.
The presentation covered several near‑term projects. Staff said the Highway 189 environmental study began in early 2024 and construction is anticipated in 2025–2026, including a signal at the Highway 113 intersection. For a Highway 40 corridor south of town, staff described planned widening from 2400 South toward Main Street, with a new signal planned near 1500 South/Airport Road. Project financing remains incomplete: staff cited $53 million secured to date with about $97 million unfunded for a larger $150 million program described during the briefing.
On trails, staff reported sections 1 and 3 of the proposed rail‑with‑trail have completed surveying and engineering and are scheduled to go to bid in the spring; UDOT will fund and maintain those stretches as part of the statewide trail network. The middle section of the trail, however, hit a regulatory obstacle. The Provo River Mitigation Commission — the body tasked with mitigation related to the Jordanelle Dam and associated river realignment — rejected a proposed boardwalk across its mitigation property. Staff said the trail alignment therefore must be moved entirely into the railroad right‑of‑way, requiring a change order and the removal of vegetation along the rail corridor.
Commissioners asked about crossing treatments and safety. Staff said the crossing at Soldier Hollow/Highway 113 is planned as an at‑grade crosswalk with no signal at this time, though that could change if Midway City constructs a park and trailhead with different traffic needs. The trail will be a 12‑foot‑wide asphalt facility if integrated into the Utah Trail Network. Staff also noted culvert replacements on Highway 113 and Homestead Drive intended to reduce periodic overtopping in FEMA floodplain areas.
The commission did not take formal action on the UDOT briefing; the presentation was informational and intended to give commissioners advance notice of construction timing and expected traffic impacts in coming years.
