Before allocating money to fix traffic issues at Kimball Junction, UDOT needs to study exactly what the problems are.
An environmental impact study will start soon and take two to three years to complete. UDOT Region 2 Planning Manager Grant Farnsworth said that when working on traffic problems, the goal is to improve quality of life through transportation.
Mobility, health, economy and connecting communities he said are metrics the agency uses when prioritizing projects. UDOT also works to consider future needs up to 30 years out.
"We need to be able to look at the needs all the way up to 2050 and be able to identify a preferred solution and see if no-build is always part of the build alternatives. [We need to] be able to identify what funding is needed in the long run. Previously, there was no funding for that environmental study, but now there is, and that is currently just starting to take off."
UDOT can do small operational things to improve the traffic flow in Kimball Junction. It'll finish its environmental study and get public input before making bigger changes to Kimball Junction.
Farnsworth said if the Dakota Pacific development is approved, the Governor's Office of Economic Development Housing, Transit, and Reinvestment zone designation could make Kimball Junction improvements a slightly higher priority with UDOT.
The 2002 Olympics spurred two large UDOT projects redesigning Kimball Junction and the flyover at the I-80/US 40 interchange. However, UDOT Region 2 Director Robert Stewart said UDOT doesn’t consider any future Salt Lake City Olympics when planning for 2050.
"You know, one of the things that we are constrained with is just the funding sources that we have identified right now, and so with our current TIF program, the transportation infrastructure fund, and with the regular federal funding that we receive, that's really where the planning that we have, and the processes that we have in place are dedicated to."
UDOT, Park City, and Summit County are working on the Quinn's Park and Ride development. Farnsworth said UDOT is looking for ways to partner with the city to reduce traffic into town.
"But our biggest part of the involvement has been on the UDOT right of way. And so, we're looking at seeing how we can partner, making sure that we can accommodate future growth and the needs of that interchange."
Farnsworth said when planning projects like the Quinn’s Park and Ride, UDOT wants to support transit and different ways to bring people into the area.
