City leaders in Lehi and Saratoga Springs haven't been shy about expressing their differences on the Mountain View Corridor project, but they sat down long enough to talk about it Saturday morning.

City leaders, state legislators and state officials met at Winger's Diner in Lehi for breakfast to talk about the highway. The road is proposed to connect Interstate 80 with Interstate 15 in Utah County, but state officials have talked about ending the corridor project at the Salt Lake County line if cities can't come to an agreement on road alignment.

"I'm hoping we can come out of this room agreeing on some points and agree to disagree on others," said state Rep. Ken Sumsion, R-American Fork.

City and state leaders walked away from the two-hour meeting knowing that construction on a five-lane road connecting Redwood Road to I-15 at the American Fork Main Street interchange, along 1000 South in Lehi, may begin as early as 2009. Most of the funding for that road is in place. But that isn't part of the controversial highway project.

Leaders remain divided on the location of the Mountain View Corridor, but decided they wanted to keep avenues of communication open. They plan to meet again in Saratoga Springs in June.

Lehi leaders are proposing 4800 North connect the Mountain View Corridor to I-15 from north of the Utah State Veterans Cemetery and Memorial Park to a location just north of the Pilgrim's Landing planned community in Lehi. That's was not one of the original UDOT options, and is being reviewed by the state.

Saratoga Springs leaders disagree and reiterated their preferred choice for east-west transportation as 2100 North through Lehi, though the 1900 South option was their first choice.

According to UDOT, there are three official proposals for the Mountain View Corridor in Utah County:

The first option would bring the proposed highway from Salt Lake County across north Utah County, connecting to I-15 along 2100 North in Lehi.

The second option would bring the highway across Lehi Main Street, curve it eastward along 1900 South in Saratoga Springs and Lehi, along the shore of Utah Lake, and connect to I-15 near the new Pleasant Grove-Lindon interchange.

The third option would end the highway at State Road 73 west of the crossroads in Saratoga Springs. Three east-west roads would then allow commuters to connect to I-15. Those include 1900 South in Lehi, which would become a seven-lane highway at Redwood Road connecting to I-15 at the Pleasant Grove interchange. Commuters would also be able to follow a seven-lane 2100 North in Lehi to I-15. There would also be a seven-lane road running east to west through Bluffdale connecting to I-15 north of Point of the Mountain.

Lehi City Councilman Johnny Barnes said Lehi officials are just concerned about their residents, and want to make sure the highway is in the best place for them.

"I guess I'm not just asking -- pleading -- not just where you go through Lehi but how you go through," Barnes said. "Please don't take a stance where you forget about the neighbors."

Barnes and fellow Councilman Mark Johnson said Lehi residents don't want a freeway cutting up their community.

"We'd seriously like UDOT to consider the 4800 North possibility, the arterial lanes are very important to us," Johnson said. "We're proposing no access, no commercial."

UDOT executive director John Njord said his agency has laid out a very aggressive schedule of projects for Utah County, and that he hopes construction of the 1000 South road can begin as early as 2009.

The five-lane corridor will likely have limited access points, with a traffic light about every half mile. Funds for the project are available -- $92 million from the state and $30 million from the county, Njord said.

"The $110 million does not include the interchange cost at I-15," Njord said, adding inflation and a route change proposed at the Jordan River crossing would add to the price tag.

In spite of the wait, the prospect of a major arterial at 1000 South appeared possible.

"We're likely not going to be waiting for the money, the money is waiting for the project," said state Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Eagle Mountain.

Much of the project is waiting on an environmental impact study scheduled for completion in 18 months.

"I'd love it if we could solve the problem," Utah County Commissioner Gary Anderson said. "This is a thorny issue in Utah County."

"We've spent a lot of time and money trying to resolve this," Lehi Councilman Mark Johnson said. "The residents know what Lehi has spent of their money for seeing a solution."

"How do we make it the community that it wants to be instead of we can't do this we can't do that let's make it what we can do," said Darrell Cook, executive director of Mountainland Association of Governments.

"Yes, you're concerned about your residents. We're concerned about ours. No way have we told Saratoga Springs in anyway 'kiss off,' " said Lehi Councilman Johnny Barnes.

"Hopefully, we can work together in a unified voice so we can get the transportation solutions we need for the state and federal sources," said David Lifferth, Eagle Mountain councilman.

"We can all reach an understanding of where we're at and hopefully reach some agreement for the benefit of all the sites and at the same time agree there are issues we will disagree on," said state Rep. Ken Sumsion, R-American Fork.

"I hope we can reach the best consensus for all the cities," Heather Jackson, Eagle Mountain councilwoman, said. "I'm glad someone had the guts to put it together."

"I'm interested in transportation," said state Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem. "Anybody in Utah County, this is a huge deal for us."

"At the background of our alternatives, 1000 South is in place," Teri Newell, Mountain View Corridor project manager, said. "That is a given."

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B1.