UDOT is planning to add lanes around the highly trafficked entry to Park City.
It’s the least expensive of the three final options announced for Kimball Junction back in 2021. It’s also the most flexible, according to project manager Becky Stromness.
She said portions of another plan for an extra Interstate 80 exit onto Landmark Drive, called alternative A, could be added in the future.
“Depending on how the area develops in the coming years,” Stromness told the Summit County Council this week. “Most importantly, it doesn't preclude any elements of ‘A’ that could potentially be implemented or built into the future.”
Alternative A also included a traffic signal instead of the roundabout near the Summit County Library.
Ultimately, Stromness said the option UDOT chose made for faster travel times during peak morning and afternoon hours.
According to Councilmember Canice Harte, UDOT engineers have told the county it’s a 30-year fix.
“This was kind of leaving the door open for future opportunities, however things turn out with development,” Stromness said.
Development may be around the corner, as Dakota Pacific Real Estate looks to build hundreds of housing units, both market rate and affordable, on the 50 acres it owns west of state Route 224.
The county council controversially approved the development in December, in an agreement that would have tied the neighborhood rollout to UDOT’s improvement timeline.
Residents launched a referendum effort to overturn the agreement, but they may not make it to a November vote. Dakota Pacific is exploring other ways to develop anyway.
Those include incorporating a town or using a law Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville, says cements the December development agreement. The two options don’t tether the developer and transit agency’s timelines together.
Separately, the Kimball Junction outlet mall is up for redevelopment with housing, too.
Stromness said the earliest UDOT can get started is 2027, first adding extra turn lanes at Ute Boulevard.
That project isn’t technically a part of the overall Kimball Junction improvement project. It will cost $3 million to $4 million; the rest is billed at about $48.5 million.
The transportation department’s decision won’t be final until after a public comment period.
Residents can weigh in on the winning option in person April 8, at Ecker Hill Middle School, and online April 10. Written comments can be submitted until April 28.
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