UDOT launching $1.4 billion in road projects in response to Utah County’s rapid population growth

Real estate development on the west side of Utah Lake in northwest Utah County has spawned major plans for road construction in the area, including newly announced projects by
the Utah Department of Transportation for four projects with a price tag of $1.4 billion.

Four key projects set to improve traffic flow in county's growing real estate market 

Rebecca Olds
The City Journals

In response to the growing real estate market in northwestern Utah County and the anticipated population boom, Utah’s Department of Transportation (UDOT) has announced four major roadway projects with a budget of nearly $1.4 billion.

The projects include converting 2100 North into a freeway, adding flex lanes to Pioneer Crossing, extending Mountain View Corridor South to the Cory B. Wride Highway and extending the Cory B. Wride Highway from Mountain View Corridor to Ranches Parkway. Most are scheduled to start construction as early as 2025 with others expected to start closer to 2027.

“These projects will greatly benefit both the residents and travelers in the region, ensuring better commutes and improved connectivity,” UDOT Region Three Director Rob Clayton said in a press release. However, no estimated completion dates were given.

According to research by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, Utah County is projected to experience rapid population growth and is expected to surpass the combined growth of Salt Lake, Davis and Weber counties by the year 2050.

Researchers found that while Salt Lake County is expected to remain the most populated in the state, Utah County will experience the most population growth, at almost half of the projected state population increase of 66 percent by 2060. That’s more than 2.2 million more people to enter the state, with around 1 million in Utah County alone.

Layne Thompson, a real estate agent, said that the population growth means that real estate will be more in demand in the county and a big concern of his clients is getting where they need to go without much hassle.

“I just don’t think you can underscore the importance of personal time not being wasted,” he said.

He said that “it’s safety, it’s privacy, it’s just less congestion” that draws in future homebuyers to an area.

Furthermore, what makes it appealing to builders is the enormous buildable acreage, he said. In Salt Lake County, he estimated 30,000 buildable acres compared to Utah County’s staggering 250,000 buildable acres.

“I sure hope, even within two years, there’s another plan on top of this one that gets approved because the growth is just so explosive,” Thompson said.

UDOT’s communication manager over the area, Wyatt Woolley, told the Business Journal the four currently planned projects are expected to ease current traffic flow significantly and that UDOT is doing its best to keep up with the growth and anticipates more.

For an example, Pioneer Crossing, a main route in and out of the city, was designed to accommodate about 35,000 vehicles a day, Woolley said. On average during peak times and days, there are between 52,000 to 58,000 vehicles that use the roadway now.

“With the flex lane, that should put us up to that sweet spot of 60,000 vehicles per day that it will be able to accommodate,” Woolley said. “We hope that will push us into the next decade before we have to start thinking about a study to turn it into a freeway or find some other alternative route that will accommodate even more vehicles.”

This project has been estimated to cost the lowest of all the projects at $77 million. Converting 2100 North to a freeway in Lehi is expected to cost the most at $554 million.

“As far as the growth, we’re always trying to stay ahead of it,” Woolley said. “That being said, we can’t just build a road to nowhere, hoping it will become a huge development.”

UDOT’s concern lies with residents not being happy when developers don’t provide a sound barrier along already built freeways and roadways, or the routes already planned to undergo construction, Woolley said.

“If the developer is building next to one of our future freeways, it’s really up to them to design sound walls, barriers and accesses, think about intersections that they may want or need and then work with us to help create that — to facilitate that need the people are probably going to want and need,” Woolley said.

Woolley said “the projects are still coming” as the population continues to rise, although he said recent speculation about building a bridge to connect the west side of Utah Lake to the east side is not in the plans.