Curtis Booker, Daily Herald

The Utah Department of Transportation is continuing to explore methods to alleviate traffic congestion throughout northwest Utah County.

UDOT is considering a 10-mile extension of the Mountain View Corridor to aid commuters traveling south through Saratoga Springs, UDOT announced in a press release.

The proposed plan would extend the Mountain View Corridor from state Route 73/Pioneer Crossing to Redwood Road near Pelican Point.

“If improvements are not made in this area, engineers expect the morning commute to jump 13 minutes to 27 minutes of delay each day. According to the draft study, if the new extension is built, engineers expect to divert up to 22,000 vehicles off Redwood Road each weekday,” UDOT said as part of the release.

UDOT says due to ongoing population growth in Utah County, which is projected to nearly triple by 2050, the plan aims to enhance the transportation system in northern Utah County.

Courtesy Utah Department of Transportation

“I consider this to be a very much-needed project to help alleviate travel on mainly Interstate 15, but throughout Salt Lake and Utah counties, to help relieve the stress that we have on our freeways,” Wyatt Woolley, UDOT Region 3 communications manager, told the Daily Herald.

Beyond the traffic headaches for drivers, Woolley also noted safety concerns.

The new freeway will also provide southern Saratoga Springs residents another option to evacuate during an emergency. Woolley pointed to the Knolls Fire near Israel Canyon in 2020, when thousands of residents on the south end of the city attempted to evacuate the area. This prompted concerns from citizens as Redwood Road, the only main option to flee, became clogged with vehicles.

“To have this other alternative to get in and out would be a great benefit for a serious situation,” he noted.

Additionally, UDOT says the new extension would also include two 12-foot-wide shared-use trails parallel to both the frontage roads and the expressway.

Plans to transform the Mountain View Corridor into a freeway, ultimately connecting Salt Lake and Utah counties, are already underway.

Last April, crews began work to construct the road between 2100 North in Lehi and Porter Rockwell Boulevard near the border between Utah and Salt Lake counties. Completion for that project is slated for April 2026, according to the project director, Andrew Jordan.

UDOT began the process for an environmental study to evaluate the proposed 10-mile extension in 2023, and it is expected to be completed by this summer.

For local citizens who want to have a say in the proposed project, Woolley says now is the time to comment.

“Now that we’re in the study period, if people want to make effective changes to our study and on the proposed route and where we’re going without the (Mountain View Corridor) south, now is the time to come to the public meeting to make comments during the comment period,” he said.

Multiple public hearings on the matter are scheduled for next week.

A virtual meeting will happen April 29 from 6-7 p.m. Interested participants can visit udotinput.utah.gov/mvcsouth and click on the “Public Meeting and Events” tab.

An in-person open house format public hearing is scheduled for the following day, April 30, from 5-7 p.m. at Lake Mountain Middle School, located at 1058 S. Old Farm Road in Saratoga Springs.

Comments can also be submitted online at udotinput.utah.gov/MVCsouth.

The public comment period is open through May 16.