The 5-mile-long multimillion-dollar road that will bring hilltop Draper residents down into Utah County is nearly finished — and that's bringing both hurrahs and groans.
"We think it's going to be a fantastic road," said Ed Grampp, vice president and general manager for TerraBrook Inc., the developer of the SunCrest residential project that lies atop Traverse Mountain and spills across the boundary line between Salt Lake and Utah counties.
"We've tried to minimize the cuts and fills. We've taken every precaution," Grampp said.
That may be true, but folks on the Utah County side see a beloved hillside scarred and laid raw by the new four-lane SunCrest Drive/Highland Boulevard throughway that runs from the mountaintop to U-92.
"I notice the cuts on the mountain, and that disturbs me, but the most disturbing element is that once it's done, there's going to be a zillion houses on the mountain," said Day Christensen, who lives in Bull River, an upscale subdivision directly east of the new road.
"It's just a shame when the state doesn't stop something like this, development of the mountains. It just shows poor planning," Christensen said.
Grampp said it is true that development will immediately follow the road's completion. In fact, subdivisions are already approved and under construction.
Ultimately, TerraBrook plans to have 3,000 homes and commercial development along the roadway.
But Grampp said the unsightly road cuts will be vegetated and eventually blend in with the mountainside much like the road on the north side of the mountain.
"Look at the north side where the road is, things that were visible are not now that the vegetation has taken hold. We'll be doing the same thing on this side," he said.
Rob Smith, business administrator of the Alpine School District, said the 30 or so students who attend school in the Jordan School District will be able to choose where they go — Westfield Elementary, Timberline Middle School or Lone Peak High School — once the road is open.
If buses can navigate the road and the grades, they'll start running to those neighborhoods next year, he said.
The road should be open to regular traffic by late September, Grampp said, barring unforeseen trouble with the weather.
"We're anxious, and I know we have Utah County-oriented residents who are anxious," Grampp said.
The road has been under construction on the Utah County side for a year and in the Draper, Utah County, portion for two years.
Mayors and the city councils in Alpine and Highland originally resisted the development.
Alpine City has consistently denied access to the area from its west side.
Highland argued for months over the path and positioning of the road before reluctantly agreeing to the current configuration last year.
"Now, I think they're claiming the right to call it Highland Boulevard," Grampp said. "That's fine. I think we have a good relationship with Highland."
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