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- Utah roads officials are proposing a $125 million interchange to better connect I-84 and Trappers Loop in Morgan County.
- The project aims to ease congestion and improve access to Trappers Loop and some of the recreational offerings to the north, like Snowbasin and Pineview Reservoir.
- Public meetings are scheduled this week to get input.
MOUNTAIN GREEN, Morgan County — State roads officials are mulling development of a new $125 million interchange along I-84 in Morgan County to accommodate growing traffic volumes brought on by development and interest in area recreational offerings.
"There's just traffic congestion on the (existing) interchange and people trying to get on Trappers Loop. It'll just continue to get worse as we continue to see development," said Mitch Shaw, spokesman for the Utah Department of Transportation.
The plans near Mountain Green call for the extension of Trappers Loop Road, also known as state Route 167, south of where it intersects with Old Highway Road, directly to I-84, where the new full-access interchange would be developed. That would give both eastbound and westbound I-84 motorists more direct access to Trappers Loop to the north, Mountain Green and nearby recreational offerings to the north in Weber County, like Snowbasin ski resort and Pineview Reservoir.
As is, access to the northbound section of Trappers Loop from I-84 is indirect, requiring motorists to traverse road stretches more apt for local traffic. The upgrade, according to UDOT estimates, would reduce the time it takes to get to I-84 from the Trappers Loop-Old Highway Road intersection from a little over five minutes to a minute. What's more, with additional development in the works north of I-84, congestion could get worse if the current road configuration is maintained.
Development "doesn't really show signs of stopping," Shaw said.
The proposed interchange has been a focus of discussion for years, and UDOT completed its preliminary report with project proposal details earlier this month. It's the focus of an online public meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m. to be held via Zoom. Then it'll be the focus of an in-person public hearing on Wednesday from 5:30-7 p.m. at Mountain Green Middle School, 6200 N. 5000 West.
Adding to the potential traffic pressure in the area, a team of Ogden-based developers is mulling a development, Nine Springs, that in its preliminary incarnation calls for 2,200 or more housing units on a swath of land north of I-84 between Mountain Green and Snowbasin. Likewise, Snowbasin operators have expressed aspirations of increasing housing and development around the resort to host Alpine skiing during the 2034 Winter Olympics in Utah.
Currently, no roadway extends south of the proposed new I-84 interchange. But the project "would not preclude a future, separate" proposal to create a roadway connection heading in that direction, reads the report on the UDOT plans. The sprawling Wasatch Peaks Ranch resort project, geared to high-income clients and also in Morgan County, sits south of I-84.
Preliminary estimates put the cost of the interchange project at $125 million, Shaw said. After taking public input — to be accepted through May 8 — UDOT officials would likely refine the plan and come up with a more precise cost estimate, possibly by next fall. No project timeline has yet been determined, and funds, at this stage, haven't been put aside for the project.
Apart from the I-84/Trappers Loop interchange, the proposal calls for a signalized intersection just to the north where Trappers Loop meets Old Highway Road. The partial I-84/Old Highway Road interchange, Exit 92, would be removed.
