Planners: Southern Utah congestion inevitable, but northern corridor would help

Planners: Southern Utah congestion inevitable, but northern corridor would help

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ST. GEORGE — Planners scrambling to meet future transportation needs in southern Utah say even if the controversial northern corridor is built, congestion is inevitable if growth continues as expected.

But the controversial road through protected desert tortoise habitat would prevent some issues. County planners have advocated with the Bureau of Land Management for a northern corridor route, and recently filed an appeal in the matter.

Without a northern corridor, several major intersections in St. George will reach capacity and fail by 2040, Myron Lee, director of the Dixie Metropolitan Planning Organization, said.

A road is needed to connect Washington Parkway at Exit 13 on Interstate 15 to Snow Canyon Parkway. However, the planned routes would cut through the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve which was set aside to protect the tortoise.

Lee shared the Dixie MPO’s 2011 Washington Parkway Cost/Benefit Study and the preferred route for a northern corridor with the Habitat Conservation Advisory Committee at a regular work meeting Tuesday.

The Advisory Committee oversees the well-being of the tortoise and other species as directed in the Habitat Conservation Plan. The plan governs the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve and the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

The Governors’s Office of Planning and Budget has predicted that southern Utah will see an additional 386,000 residents in the next 30 years, Lee said.

To read the full story, visit St. George News.

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