UDOT is deciding between two possible routes for the bypass.
One option keeps highway traffic on north U.S. 40 until just north of downtown Heber City, then diverts vehicles west of town to connect to U.S. 189. The other option would construct a highway through part of the North Fields.
UDOT will publish its draft environmental impact statement, or EIS, on Wednesday, Jan. 7.
It will outline UDOT’s preferred route, plus details about how the road will affect local property owners and the environment.
Wasatch County Manager Dustin Grabau said local leaders are waiting for the decision along with everyone else.
“Regardless of which option is recommended, it’s going to have big impacts,” he said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Jan. 6. “It’s going to have big impacts on the south side of Heber and through the North Fields and everywhere else, so I think there’s going to be a lot of concern; I think there’s going to be a lot of discussion.”
Once the EIS is published, residents will have 60 days to share feedback. The public comment window runs from Friday, Jan. 9, through March 9. An in-person public hearing will be on Jan. 28.
UDOT will have several opportunities for locals to learn more about the plans and share their opinions.
Construction of the highway is expected to cost over half a billion dollars.
