Wasatch County Councilmember Erik Rowland thinks the Heber Valley bypass route is in the wrong spot.
In a 36-page letter to the Utah Department of Transportation, he proposes shifting the highway to the east, so that the bypass runs closer to north U.S. 40.
Rowland said his goal with the letter, cosigned by the county council and leaders from Heber City and Midway, is to reduce the environmental impacts of the road.
“How close can we get to 40?” he said. “How close can we leverage that existing footprint so that we can get the best of both worlds?”
Rowland’s concerns include the long-term health of the Heber Valley aquifer, preserving the North Fields as part of the county’s agricultural heritage, the community’s desire for open space and more.
He took the letter on the road as the end of UDOT’s public comment period drew near, asking his fellow leaders in the valley to unite against the chosen route.
Reactions were mixed.
At the Heber City Council meeting March 3, city engineer Russ Funk said people who love the Heber Valley must also acknowledge its traffic problems, and he urged elected leaders not to stand in the way of a solution.
“There’s been a lot of complaints about UDOT and how long this is taking, and we just seem to be spinning in circles – this is why,” he said. “I see this as delaying the timeline and ultimately preventing this project that is desperately needed by the city.”
Speaking with the Midway City Council a few days later, Rowland said hindering a project decades in the making is not his intent, but environmental concerns need to be taken seriously.
“Obviously, we don’t want a delay,” he said. “But if [UDOT] can look at these and mitigate them now, then we could potentially have this project done in a reasonable amount of time.”
“But if doing the right thing causes a delay, it is what it is,” Midway City Councilmember Andy Garland said.
The Wasatch County Council and the Midway City Council unanimously agreed to sign the letter. A few Heber City elected officials also signed, while others were less comfortable.
UDOT project manager Craig Hancock said a few factors determined where Route B will cross the North Fields, including travel efficiency and environmental impacts.
“We wanted to make sure that it worked geometrically,” he said. “And then the other big factor there was avoiding wetlands. I know alternative B does have higher wetland impacts, but we did try to locate alternative B so that it would minimize those impacts to wetlands.”
The Army Corps of Engineers will determine the precise environmental mitigation requirements UDOT must follow. Hancock said the agency doesn’t intend to take away the valley’s farmland.
“We’re going to be working with willing sellers,” he said. “We're really just trying to meet our wetland mitigation requirements, to help to preserve some of that open space that the community cares about.”
The 60-day public comment period for the bypass ends the night of March 9. After that, UDOT will analyze and respond to all the comments. It plans to publish its final decision this summer.
