UDOT will publish its official plan for the Heber Valley bypass in spring 2027. That’s a delay from the agency’s original goal to release it by the end of 2026.
Project manager Craig Hancock said at a Heber City Council meeting Tuesday, Aug. 4, UDOT needs extra time to study suggestions submitted by Wasatch County locals.
“These potential design refinements include potentially shifting the alignment that’s on 1300 South farther south and potentially looking at shifting Alternative B – the section that goes through the North Fields – a little farther east,” he said.
He said experts are also reexamining the bike and pedestrian crossings at state Route 113.
UDOT petitioned the state transportation commission for an extra $1 million to study wetland impacts, update designs and adjust traffic models. Construction costs for the road will be north of $760 million.
“This additional work is needed, of course, to respond to all the comments we received from the community,” Hancock said.
This is the latest in a yearslong series of delays for the highway. The most notable of those came in fall 2024, when UDOT announced it had waited too long to choose a route and needed to come up with new options.
Once built, the bypass is meant to improve travel times and divert highway traffic away from downtown Heber.
UDOT has been studying the route since 2020, but discussions about the highway have been going on for decades.
