To accommodate public concerns and terrain obstacles, the Utah Department of Transportation will be presenting a new version of the SR-92 highway plans to be approved.

To provide a speedier commute, one lane traveling in each direction will bypass the intersections along the route and directly connect SR-92 to I-15.

"The communities wanted local access to and from I-15," said Geoff Dupaix of UDOT.

The previous plans put the express lanes in the middle of the main highway, and UDOT engineers have changed their plans. Now, instead of dipping and rising below and above the normal arterial road in the middle, the express lanes will now fit more closely to the terrain it moves across. This will ultimately eliminate a large part of construction, as supports will not have to be built around the main road, Avila said.

To have the ability to stay more level with the original grade, the express lane was separated from the main arterial piece of the highway. This now will provide several benefits, including a temporary relief if weather or accidents congest the main road, Avila said.

"We've created a structure that does not fight the terrain, but goes with it," said Avila. "We're making an investment for today with these plans."

To accommodate the Lehi community, direct connection was provided to Lehi Center Street and from 1200 West to S.R. 92.

This highway remodel is expected to serve the entire community until 2030 said Dupaix, and one of the positive aspects of having separate express lanes is the ability to expand if the community grows faster than expected.

Although it will not be assigned as such, the current plans now allow sufficient width to provide a bike lane for avid bikers.

Another benefit of keeping the main highway separated from the express lanes is the ability to build them at separate times, if adequate funding is not provided all at once Dupaix said.

"If we had to, in worst case scenario, we just wouldn't build the fast lanes for now," Avila said. "But it could be later. This is this is a great thing; this opens a new option for phaseability if necessary. Even if it's in phases, it will still be better than it is now."

To receive that adequate funding, UDOT will be asking for somewhere around $260 million, Avila said. This is not an accurate engineer estimate, he said, but only a "wish list of everything."

Since the current plan eliminates major construction elements, about $30 million is saved from the previous presentation.

"Obviously we don't know ahead of time what the commission will allocate," Avila said. "We don't want to create the expectation that we will get the full allocation just yet."

To help speed up the process, UDOT is only changing the surface plans of the road Avila said. The environmental document will remain the same as well as other aspects of the construction since they are already "well under way."

Avila said that the plans are still open to change, and public comment concerning the road is still being considered. There will be a formal public hearing in the fall around September, and then after a 30-day public comment period, UDOT will hear a final decision from the federal government concerning the funding.

"We're anticipating to award the construction contract in December of this year, and then issue a notice to proceed in January," Avila said. "Then the company can work through the designing and coordinating issues through the winter, and start actually moving dirt in March. The best case scenario is to be done in the fall of 2010."