Long-anticipated plans to extend state Route 177 into Weber County are morphing from speculation to reality.
State Route 177, known as the West Davis Corridor or West Davis Highway in Davis County, is the north-south arterial built to ease congestion on I-15 and serve the growing population of western Davis County. All along, officials have meant to extend it north into Weber County, where growth is similarly strong, and those plans are edging ahead. The Utah Department of Transportation has launched the study into development of the corridor section from West Point in northwestern Davis County north to West Haven in Weber County and met with the public last week on the plans.
“The cost and the exact alignment will be developed with this state environmental study, which is scheduled to be complete by next fall,” said UDOT spokesman Mitch Shaw. Funds for the four-lane, limited-access roadway — meant to help haul autos between Weber County and Salt Lake County — have not yet been allocated.
UDOT is seeking public comment on the plans and held a meeting on Nov. 18 in West Haven to provide information, answer questions and gather feedback, drawing around 500 people, according to Shaw. “Feedback was mostly people curious about the study — what it entails, when construction will start, why is this extension needed, etc.,” he said.
West Haven Mayor Rob Vanderwood said West Haven and Hooper will be most impacted by the new roadway section, which will cut through the two cities. Even so, he said many at last week’s meeting expressed “cautious optimism” at the prospect of the new road. He also noted the likely need to relocate “several residents” along the proposed alignment.
“Any new or expanded roadway can significantly impact daily life, routines, and longstanding community connections, and we recognize how difficult that can be,” Vanderwood said, adding that UDOT officials and their contractors have been upfront about the plans and West Haven officials have been in regular contact with them as the project plans have evolved.
The first section of the West Davis Corridor, the 16-mile stretch from Farmington north to state Route 193 on the south side of West Point, opened early last year. Plans have been finalized for the second section, a 2.5-mile segment from state Route 193 north to 1800 North, also in West Point, with work to start next year at a preliminary cost of $225 million.
Now the wheels are churning to formally designate the corridor for the 5-mile section north of 1800 North through Hooper to 4000 South in West Haven. Over the long haul, plans call for extending the corridor north beyond West Haven through Weber County into southern Box Elder County. There it would veer east and connect into I-15, just north of Pleasant View.
The rough proposed corridor of the S.R. 177 segment north of 1800 North in West Point to West Haven runs along or adjacent to 5100 West in Weber County, UDOT maps show. While UDOT officials hope to pinpoint the roadway alignment as part of the environmental study, Shaw said there’s no specific timetable for action beyond that. “Once the environmental study is wrapped up next fall — and if the project is approved — it’ll take two years of design before construction starts, and then we’re still going to have to go out and get funding for it,” he said.
As the project moves forward, Vanderwood stressed the importance of fairly compensating those who lose land to the project. “Our priority remains clear — to stay engaged, transparent and supportive as we work through this process with our residents and project partners,” he said.
Weber County leaders, over the years, have acknowledged the coming of S.R. 177 and braced for it, mindful of growth in the western reaches of the county. UDOT information provided at the West Haven meeting notes expected increases in the years to come in commuter traffic originating in western Weber County. Commuter traffic between the area and Davis County is expected to grow from around 9,250 trips per day currently to 16,210 by 2050. Commuter traffic between the area and Salt Lake County is expected to increase from 2,310 trips a day to 5,370 in the next 25 years.
“Over 40% of workers living in western Weber County currently commute to other counties,” according to UDOT.
What’s more, the population of the two counties is expected to expand by 40%-50% through 2050 to nearly 900,000 with most of that expected growth to occur west of the I-15 corridor.