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WEST VALLEY CITY — Mountain View Corridor construction will intensify this summer as road crews push north to meet state Route 201.
As part of the approval for that project, the Utah Department of Transportation and the Utah Transit Authority are working together on a mass transit alternative on 5600 West. It’s a proposed bus route that could ease traffic congestion on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley.
That proposal grew from a 5-mile route to a 29-mile route — that could make a big difference for a lot of people.
“It’s not necessarily about moving cars. It’s about moving people,“ said John Gleason, a UDOT spokesman.
Sometime in the coming years, you should be able to hop on an express bus in West Jordan or West Valley and ride it to the airport, or even downtown.
“It’s all about service,” said Carl Arky, a spokesman for UTA. “Servicing more people; servicing them more effectively, more efficiently, making it easier for them to use mass transportation.”
UDOT and UTA came up with the bus route to fulfill that requirement for a multi-pronged transportation solution linked with Mountain View Corridor.
“We’re never going to get to where we need to be by roads alone,” said Gleason. “They’re an important component, but we have to look at active transportation solutions, transit solutions, a variety of solutions for people that are looking to get around.”
Rapid transit buses will connect riders from downtown Salt Lake City all the way out to the airport and 5600 West, then continue south to Old Bingham Highway. The 29-mile route will serve four cities and connect several existing transit routes. It’s nearly six times longer than the original plan.
“It makes more sense to go with a longer route. More people will use it,“ said Arky.
Over on Mountain View Corridor, crews will build from 4100 South to S.R. 201 during the next three seasons and should be complete in fall 2021. That north-south link should help motorists on the west side connect with major east-west arteries.
“This is really going to be a difference maker in the way that people travel on the western part of Salt Lake County,” Arky said.
Related:
New lanes for I-15 'Technology Corridor' tops UDOT project list
The stretch of I-15 now being called the state's “Technology Corridor” ranks No. 1 on the Utah Department of Transportation's Top 10 list of construction projects for 2018.Mountain View Corridor is UDOT’s biggest project in that span of time.
The public is invited to review and comment on proposed Express Bus service until May 16.
There is no specific timeframe for when this bus service could be up and running. Funding to get it going will be the real key. UTA expects to know more later this year.
The Phase I Transit Proposal can be reviewed online at udot.utah.gov/mountainview. Hard copies can also be found at the Mountain View Corridor offices, 3959 West 1820 South, STE 200, in Salt Lake City.
You can submit comments here: udot.utah.gov/mountainview, or by emailing mountainview@utah.gov. Written comments may also be submitted at the Mountain View Corridor offices.
