If the Utah Department of Transportation has its way, U.S. 89 through Davis County one day will be an expressway with up to six traffic lanes.
Lynn Zollinger, assistant director for UDOT's District 1, said in an interview Tuesday the department is "leaning toward" making the mountain route an expressway serviced by on- and off-ramps and/or exits.His comments are the department's first public acknowledgment of a preference for the hotly debated future of the road. Previously, the department said it was studying four options but never specified which one officials favored.
If built, motorists could enter the expressway only via ramps or extended exits and entrances. The route's current system of stoplights and dozens of connecting roads would be reconfigured or bulldozed.
Undoubtedly, so would some homes and businesses.
But residents and business owners won't know for at least a year whether their land would be targeted. A specific design has not been approved, and the idea in general faces at least four more bureaucratic hurdles before it becomes reality.
However, the public will get a general look at how the expressway might affect their property by June. That's when a draft environmental impact statement is due.
"They'll be able to see all four of the options and the impacts of each option. In some cases, we've actually done cuts and fills for specific properties," said Craig Petersen, a representative of Versar Co., the group hired by UDOT to complete the study. "It's probably going to be the most comprehensive EIS ever done for a Utah road project."
Still, actual design of the expressway could change what properties are affected and to what extent, he said.
Residents have said in several public meetings that they favor the less-drastic option of stoplights to slow traffic and improve safety.
But that plan just won't work with the explosive growth in the county, Zollinger said. "Our objective is to get traffic through that corridor efficiently and safely and provide for local needs. In our view, this alternative does that."
The EIS will undergo a public comment period before any action is taken on it. Then the department will issue a record of decision, which must be approved by the state transportation committee.
The plan will then be sent to Washington, D.C., for approval by federal highway officials.
The record of decision is at least a year away, Zollinger said. Any work on the expressway probably wouldn't begin until after 1997.
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Additional Information
The 4 options
The Utah Department of Transportation has considered four options for U.S. 89. An official said Tuesday the department now favors the No. 2 option:
1. Freeway like I-15, costing $100 million.
2. Limited-access expressway with up to six lanes, at least $70 million.
3. Expressway with signals, less than $70 million.
4. Leave as is with stoplights added, $6 million.
Source: Cost estimates, Utah Department of Transportation.