For decades UDOT has been working on a Heber Valley bypass to improve regional and local traffic flow on US-40 from state Route 32 to US-189. The transit department also wants to provide walking and biking options and help Heber realize its vision for the historic town center.
Progress in determining a preferred route stalled in October 2024 when leaders admitted they’d taken so long to make a decision that none of its five proposals could meet Wasatch County’s needs without adjustments.
UDOT Region 3 spokesperson Wyatt Woolley said the agency hadn’t accurately predicted future congestion numbers.
“Every three or four years they update the travel demand model for the region and based upon where we were at, it was 30% more than what we were anticipating,” he said.
In 2050, traffic volumes on north US-40 are predicted to be similar to those today on Salt Lake County’s Bangerter Highway or Utah County’s University Parkway. So, all options with signalized intersections were ruled out, along with options that increased traffic on 1300 South.
The organization has now narrowed its scope down to two options: Alternative A, which is on Highway 40, and Alternative B, which goes off Highway 40.
Both options have grade-separated free-flow interchanges, which means no lights to stop traffic. Both also feature two travel lanes on north US-40 in both directions with partial frontage roads and a free-flow connection to 1300 South.
The main difference between the two options is Alternative A stays on Highway 40 until 900 North, where a bypass would be diverted from Main Street. Alternative B features a bypass starting at Potter Lane which would go through the North Fields.
Woolley said both options have different impacts.
“Alternative A goes up north US-40, which we're all familiar with, but that impacts more, you know, businesses and homes, stuff that's already there,” he said. “If you go over into the North Fields, more westward, you're impacting more agricultural and wetland and farming agricultural areas.”
Alternative A would require around 22 property acquisitions, while Alternative B would need around 1. But Alternative B would impact around 51 acres of the North Fields and wetlands, while Alternative A would impact only around 22 acres.
Many Heber residents have been vocal about avoiding the North Fields between Midway and Heber. Utah Open Lands has been working to conserve land in the North Fields as open space, preventing any development.
Woolley said the current travel time on US-40 is eight to nine minutes. If nothing is done, UDOT estimates that time will more than double.
“If we get these corridors built, and it's built either the west side or the north 40 side, it will cut that time almost in half so it's only about 11 minutes,” Woolley said.
UDOT plans to release the environmental impact study in the fall, identifying a preferred option. The release will be followed by public hearings where the community can provide feedback.
Woolley said UDOT hopes to complete the bypass before the 2034 Olympic Games.
