Let's get it built.

That sentiment seemed to be most common at Thursday's UDOT open house to give north county residents information on a proposed east-west connector from Redwood Road to Interstate 15. More than 100 people attended.

"It will give me a better route to get to I-15 and back, and I hope it will relieve congestion on Main Street," said David Nash of Lehi.

Nash and his wife, Peggy, attended Thursday's meeting because UDOT's preferred route for the road, one of eight routes studied, will be four houses down from their home. While they support the road, they wanted to find out the exact alignment, and whether a sound wall would be built near their home.

"My only other question is how do we access the road," David Nash said. "And I have a concern about school children on the south side of the road and how they will get across."

Justin Earl, a developer working in Cedar Valley, said the difficult commute along Lehi's Main Street has negatively impacted home sales in Cedar Valley, and the proposed road could help turn that around.

"For the people who have already purchased, it will give them easier access to where they work, shop, go to school and do their entertainment activities," he said, noting it will also make it easier for people to visit model homes. People who "see a solution coming" will be more likely to buy homes, he said.

Ken Lima of Lehi said one of the alternatives, not the one chosen by UDOT, would have taken the road through the center of his subdivision and he was relieved to find UDOT had chosen another route.

"I am totally in support," he said. "It should definitely be done quickly."

Carol and Jeff Semmens of Lehi said they came to the meeting because they are considering moving to Eagle Mountain "and this would impact us directly," she said. "We want the most effective road system we can get in this county and regionally. We need to move a lot of people east and west."

Bryan Adams of UDOT said he was pleased with the turnout, and that most people seemed to support UDOT's preferred route, saying the most frequent comment to him throughout the evening from residents was a request to just build it faster. The $135 million project is expected to begin in spring 2009, along with a rebuild of the American Fork Main Street freeway interchange, needed to accommodate the new road.

Lehi Mayor Howard Johnson said that though UDOT and Lehi may not see eye to eye on the proposed freeway through Lehi, the city does support the east-west connector. Because of population growth, the road may not reduce traffic on Lehi's Main Street but it should keep traffic from becoming worse on that road, he said.

UDOT's preferred route is a five-lane, limited access roadway connecting to the interchange at Main Street in American Fork on the east and to Redwood Road at approximately 600 North in Saratoga Springs on the west.The road would use land in the area of 1000 South in Lehi, portions of which were preserved by Lehi for the new corridor, according to UDOT.

Residents who missed Thursday's meeting may still submit their comment on UDOT's plan by e-mailing ewconnector@utah.gov, by calling 801-753-7344, or by visiting www.udot.utah.gov/ewconnector.