City leaders of Saratoga Springs want a freeway at 2100 North and aren't afraid to ruffle a few Lehi feathers.

The City Council unanimously passed a resolution in March announcing the city's official position on the Mountain View Corridor alternatives in north Utah County. The road is planned to connect Interstate 80 in Salt Lake County with Interstate 15 in Utah County.

"I think the freeway connection is vital," Mayor Tim Parker said. "From the traffic flow point of view, it is the best of the two alternatives I think."

Lehi city leaders have come out in support of that city's master transportation plan, which doesn't allow for additional freeways in the city. They are protesting the 1500 South, 1900 South and 2100 North Mountain View Corridor alternatives and want to see UDOT approve tree-lined boulevards at those sites instead.

"They are all nice and good, but I don't think they are tied into reality," said Saratoga Springs Councilwoman Denise Kelly. She attended the Citizen's Road Rally -- organized to protest the planned corridor -- in Lehi on March 14, and heard the Lehi council's and mayor's view on freeways crossing their city.

Parker and the council members are asking Saratoga Springs residents to be proactive. They want residents to contact their legislators to ask for support of the freeway alternative that cuts through Lehi just south of Thanksgiving Point and the Meadow Pointe planned community.

They are also asking residents to participate in public hearings and open houses.

Parker said he believes the freeway is necessary for "the smooth and efficient flow of regional traffic" through north Utah County.

"Northwest Utah County is going to become like Orem and Provo combined," Parker said. "We need to think about the people who are not here yet."

The 2100 North alternative is part of a study being done by the Utah Department of Transportation to determine the pathway of the Mountain View Corridor project. Initially, UDOT had focused on south Lehi for an east-west freeway at 1500, 1900 or 2100 South streets. Saratoga Springs leaders didn't want the 2100 South alternative since it cut into the city's Loch Lomond subdivision.

The Saratoga Springs City Council approved the resolution supporting UDOT's alternative at 2100 North for a freeway as the "least disruptive to existing and future development." The council also noted it had the least amount of environmental impact while being the most affordable and practical for the traffic demands.

"The hard part about all of this is the impact to the people who are in its path," Parker said. "It's a very difficult thing."

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D2.