Residents interested in the future of transportation in Tooele County can attend an open house today hosted by the Wasatch Front Regional Council.
The long-range transportation plan, which details proposed projects through 2040, will be available for review at Tooele City Hall, 90 N. Main St., from 4:30-6:30 p.m.
There will be representatives and maps of future proposed projects, in print and digitally, available at the open house, according to Wayne Bennion, director of short-range planning and programming at the Wasatch Front Regional Council. An interactive, online version of the map is available at wfrc.org/tvlrtp-2019-draft. Public comment on the interactive map will be accepted through Feb. 13.
Bennion said attendees can fill out comment cards, post anonymous comments through the interactive map, and interact with representatives at the open house. The ability to have a discussion about transportation in the county and express concerns are among the benefits of attending the open house in public, he said.
The early start time is something the Wasatch Front Regional Council has done in the past, Bennion said. Beginning at 4:30 p.m. allows people to keep plans late in the evening, while the 6:30 p.m. end time gives people returning from work a chance to attend, he said.
Once the public comment period ends on Feb. 13, local municipal leaders and the Wasatch Front Regional Council will review and incorporate the suggestions into the final version of the plan, Bennion said. The final version of the long-range transportation plan is expected to be complete by early summer.
A number of high-profile proposed projects to create new roads, or expand existing ones, are included in the draft plan, including the Midvalley Highway and an alternate connection between Lake Point and state Route 201. The first phase of the $75 million Midvalley Highway, which connects I-80 and state Route 138, is expected to begin this year.
The plan also includes a proposed widening of Interstate 80 from state Route 36 to SR-201, and between SR-36 and Midvalley Highway.
The draft plan proposes an extension of Droubay Road from Bates Canyon Road to Center Street, and the Oquirrh Expressway, which would connect with Droubay Road north of Mills Junction and just north of 2400 North.
There are two decades worth of future projects included in the draft plan, which require additional development and funding to move forward, according to a press release from the Wasatch Front Regional Council. The dashed lines on the map are new construction, the solid lines are widening existing roads, and the dotted lines are bike or pedestrian lanes.
In addition to road infrastructure, the plan includes a feasibility study to review high-capacity transit between Salt Lake and Tooele counties.