The Utah Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that it will hold public meetings next week to discuss alternatives to improve mobility at the I-15/Pleasant Grove Boulevard interchange.

A public hearing on the project’s Draft Environmental Assessment will be held via Zoom on Tuesday from 6-7 p.m. An in-person public hearing will be held on Wednesday from 5-7 p.m. at Odyssey Charter School in American Fork. The same information will be presented at both hearings.

An Environmental Assessment is required by the National Environmental Policy Act when federal action is proposed, in order to determine whether or not it has the potential to cause significant environmental effects.

According to the Draft EA, the action proposed by UDOT would include constructing a new interchange system on I-15 between Proctor Lane and Pleasant Grove Boulevard and improving the active transportation network in the area.

The purpose of this interchange system would be to reduce delay at the Pleasant Grove Boulevard interchange, reduce delay at the Pleasant Grove Boulevard and North County Boulevard Intersection, improve safety on mainline I-15, and improve pedestrian and bicyclist mobility.

The NEPA process also requires that a No Action Alternative be identified for each proposed federal action — where no action is taken, or short-term and minor restorations are performed — as well one or more Build Alternatives, alternate projects that could achieve similar results to the proposed action.

“The preferred alternative includes a frontage road system connecting Pleasant Grove Boulevard to Proctor Lane and adding a southbound on-ramp and northbound off-ramp at Proctor Lane to help distribute current and future traffic more efficiently,” reads a UDOT release.

Pedestrian and bike options are also being proposed.

The public comment period on the Draft EA will be open until Oct. 14. To provide feedback on the study, UDOT is encouraging residents to leave a comment on the interactive map at http://udot.utah.gov/go/pginterchange, email the project team at pgimprovements@utah.gov, or mail a comment to PG Interchange c/o Horrocks Engineers 2162 West Grove Parkway, Suite 100 Pleasant Grove, UT 84062.

Written or verbal comments on the study can also be made at the in-person public hearing.

“All comments provided to the study team will be reviewed and considered by UDOT and documented in the project record,” reads the press release. “The environmental document will be finalized in late 2022.”

More information on the draft Environmental Assessment, or to register for the Zoom public hearing, can be found at https://udotinput.utah.gov/pginterchange.