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Courtney Orton reportingThe Mountain View Corridor, the 43-mile project from west Salt Lake County to Northwest Utah County, is one step closer to becoming a reality.
Three land developers are donating land where the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) will build a portion of the roadway.
The three developers have donated land worth $60 million to $80 million to build a segment of the Mountain View Corridor that extends from 9000 South to Lehi. Ultimately they're hoping the corridor will help ease traffic along I-15.
"Transportation is the life blood of our economy and lifestyle here in Utah. We also believe that this historic public private partnership will go a long way to making the Mountain View Corridor a reality," said Don Wallace, president of the Sorensen Group.
A map shows the land UDOT plans on buying from the developers who will then donate the money back.
The segment of land extends from 9000 South to Lehi and will cost $560 million to build. "This is truly significant when you look at between $60 million and $80 million worth of land coming into a state project," said Sen. Sheldon Killpack, Senate assistant majority whip.
Lawmakers believe this project is critical in addressing the tremendous growth expected in Salt Lake County's west side and northern Utah County.
Utah House Speaker Greg Curtis said that is the reason the developers got involved. He said, "We took the deal to them, and they took months of working up through corporate headquarters in international areas to get approval for this. These gentlemen are not here for self-interest. They are good corporate citizens."
The project has been met with opposition from groups worried about what the road will mean in terms of air quality. Cameron Cova with Utah Moms for Clean Air says, "We really have an air quality problem here, regionally, and we think that the way to solve that is not just by building eight-lane freeways without public transit."
"Folks are coming to our state. People are building homes in our state. They have cars, and they're going to drive those cars. The question we have to ask ourselves is do we want those cars to be stalled in traffic, or do we want them to move. It's obvious to everyone that cars that move emit less pollution than cars that are stalled," said John Njord, executive director of UDOT.
Part of the agreement with the developers is that construction on this segment of the corridor will begin within five years.
