Study Overview
The Utah Department of Transportation’s (UDOT) mission is to keep Utah moving while enhancing quality of life through transportation improvements in our state. UDOT is conducting an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to improve regional and local mobility on US-40 from SR-32 to US-189 and provide opportunities for non-motorized transportation while allowing Heber City to meet its vision for the historic town center.
Project Update
UDOT is in the process of identifying a preferred alternative. The preferred alternative will be identified from the existing five action alternatives which passed through screening and are being evaluated in detail. UDOT will also be analyzing the effect of potential changes in growth projections on the performance of the transportation system in a No-Action scenario and in a scenario where an action alternative is constructed. The study schedule will be delayed to conduct the additional analysis. The results of this analysis will be included in the Draft EIS.
Study Area
The Heber Valley Corridor EIS project team will be working with the stakeholders to evaluate improvements to address and enhance mobility through the Heber Valley and improve the operation of Heber City Main Street (US-40).
Through this process UDOT will develop transportation alternatives that could include a variety of solutions including reconfiguration of Main Street, improvements to other area roads, constructing new roads, and other options identified by the public.
Current Phase
Last revised: 8-14-2023
The study team is in the process of identifying a preferred alternative that accomplishes this. The preferred alternative will be identified from the existing five action alternatives which passed through screening and are being evaluated in detail, please view a summary of the alternatives and screening process or the full report.
A major component of an EIS is analyzing how mobility improves based on the alternatives even as growth in a community evolves. This process of analyzing mobility needs and improvements is based on the current approved travel demand model provided by regional transportation professionals and on accepted growth projections for 2050 provided by expert demographers (experts who study population growth). For the Heber Valley, the regionally-approved travel demand model is updated every four years by the Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG).
While decisions about the preferred alternative will remain tied to these approved inputs, the study team has also begun analyzing different growth scenarios to better inform local and regional decision-making in the case of potential changes to expected growth and travel patterns between now and 2050, and beyond. UDOT feels this analysis will be important for the community to understand how potential growth on the north end and updates to the travel demand model may affect the current alternatives so the community has an opportunity to address transportation needs now and into the future.
Upcoming Activities
The study team is preparing to analyze the effect of potential changes in growth projections on the performance of the transportation system in a No-Action scenario and in a scenario where an action alternative is constructed.
Specifically, we will be analyzing:
- The effect on the transportation system as growth continues beyond 2050, which is the long-range transportation planning horizon.
- How changes to the regionally-approved travel demand model, which is updated every four years by the Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG), affect – or don’t affect – the outcomes of the study team’s analysis of traffic based on the current travel demand model. It is standard procedure both to update the travel demand model every four years and to ensure outcomes of traffic analysis in any National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processes remain sound.
- How construction timing may affect decisions made during the EIS process. Prior to granting approval of major steps to advance the project (e.g., final design, right-of-way acquisition, approval of plans, etc.), UDOT must determine whether an approved environmental document remains valid. A re-evaluation may be required if conditions are changed. Examples of changed conditions include updated policies or regulations, new approvals for development, or changes in long-range planning design horizons that are beyond the design horizon used in the environmental document.
- Because there is currently no funding for construction, construction timing is unknown. This increases the potential for conditions to change.
- The additional analysis will help inform UDOT, agencies, local governments, and the public about how changes in growth projections may affect decisions made in the Final EIS and Record of Decision and if a re-evaluation is needed in the future.
What to expect in the next phase
The study schedule will be delayed to conduct the additional analysis. The results of this analysis will be included in the Draft EIS. UDOT feels it is important that the community reviews the analysis alongside the Draft EIS so the community has the opportunity to review and comment on all technical analyses UDOT completed for the Draft EIS, as the release of the Draft EIS is the last opportunity for public review and input before the Final EIS and Record of Decision. No additional alternatives are being developed during this interim period. With this additional analysis, we now anticipate that the Draft EIS will be published early in 2024.
Please note that the project team will continue to gather information about properties that may be eligible for conservation and agricultural protection and will incorporate this information into the decision-making process. However, information received after the Draft EIS has been finalized for publication will be incorporated into the Final EIS, rather than the Draft EIS.
Minor refinements to the alignments of the five alternatives between the Final Alternatives Development and Screening Report, the Draft EIS, and the Final EIS are possible. Minor refinements between the Final EIS and final design in the construction phase (when construction funding has been identified) are also possible.
A public hearing will be held when the Draft EIS is available for agency and public review and comment. The public hearing will be available in two formats: one in-person meeting and one virtual. The same information will be presented at both hearings including results of the detailed alternative evaluation and identification of the preferred alternative. Publication of the Draft EIS and the public hearings will coincide with a 45-day public comment period. We will provide the dates and more details as we get closer to release of the Draft EIS.
Current And Upcoming Activities
Study Process and Timeline
The anticipated project timeline outlines the phases to accomplish development of the Heber Valley Corridor EIS. Ongoing engagement with the public will take place during the estimated time periods to keep the community informed during the EIS.
Submit Comment
Comments provided to the project team will be reviewed and considered by UDOT as it develops the project. All comments received will be documented in the project record. The study team will contact you if they need additional information or clarification.
Comments provided during the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process to UDOT are a matter of public record and subject to public release, if requested. For more information, see the Terms of Use at the bottom of the Utah.gov website.
Comments that are publicly displayed through online tools must follow our UDOT Social Media Policy Participant Code of Conduct. Comments that are unacceptable under that policy may be removed at the administrator’s discretion.
If you receive an error when trying to submit a comment, please refresh your browser.
Frequently Asked Questions
Environmental Impact statement
- UDOT conducts planning studies early in the project development process to help determine if there is a need to progress a project into the environmental stage. It also helps UDOT identify potential issues to better understand a project before moving it forward.
- One purpose of planning studies is to preserve corridors in rapidly-developing areas. However, corridor preservation does not predetermine the outcome of the EIS process but does allow local jurisdictions some level of future planning.
- In addition, the preliminary study helped UDOT build stakeholder relationships and learn stakeholder needs.
- Conducting a planning study also allowed UDOT to clearly identify a need for further environmental study and inform that study of key issues and recommendations.
- An EIS is required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for actions that could significantly affect the quality of the natural and human environments when there is a federal action (e.g., federal funding, federal permit or approval).
- Other studies, such as a corridor study, may identify a potential corridor or route for consideration and planning purposes. An EIS provides in-depth analysis of impacts to the natural and human environments for a range of alternatives. The EIS identifies a preferred alternative based on a comparison of potential benefits and associated impacts of each alternative evaluated in detail.
- In addition, an EIS provides decision-makers with the necessary information to make an informed decision on the anticipated benefits and impacts of the action.
- UDOT is the project sponsor and the lead agency on the EIS, responsible for things such as:
- Managing the process and resolving issues.
- Identifying and involving cooperating and participating agencies.
- Providing opportunities for public involvement in defining the purpose of and need for the project.
- Determining the range of alternatives and determining methodologies and the level of detail for the analysis of alternatives.
- As the lead agency, UDOT is responsible for the decision on the preferred alternative and whether to move forward with an action.
- UDOT has assumed the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) responsibilities under NEPA. The environmental review, consultation, and other actions required by applicable Federal environmental laws for this project are being, or have been, carried out by UDOT pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327 and a Memorandum of Understanding dated January 17, 2017, and executed by FHWA and UDOT.
- Part of the process is engaging with cooperating and participating agencies, stakeholders and the public. UDOT will be engaging with all those groups in various ways.
- A cooperating agency is an agency or tribe, other than a lead agency, that has jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved in a proposed project or project alternative. A state or local agency of similar qualifications may, by agreement with the lead agency, become a cooperating agency.
- A participating agency is a federal, state, tribal, regional, or local government agency that might have an interest in the project.
- Key stakeholders are audiences that are integral to achieving the study’s objectives and goals. The range of stakeholders may be expanded as the study develops.
- Air quality
- Residential and commercial property impacts
- Economic development
- Hazardous materials
- Historic structures
- Land use
- Noise
- Potential construction impacts
- Social (e.g., emergency services, neighborhood unity and community character)
- Wildlife and threatened and endangered species
- Wetlands
- Safety
- Bicycle and pedestrian access
- Business and residential access
- Complex utility relocations
- Economic development plans
- Regional mobility
- Regional growth
- School walking routes
- Transit
- Travel delay and congestion
- Freight movement
- The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process requires that UDOT evaluate a reasonable range of alternatives and provide an opportunity for public input on those alternatives.
- For example, UDOT received numerous comments that a bypass should be extended farther to the north to account for planned development and growth on north US-40 and that a bypass that ties into US-40 at 800 North is not a long-term solution because of that planned growth.
- UDOT is required to consider these comments, regardless of support or opposition.
- The range of alternatives under consideration allows an examination of the impacts and tradeoffs of improving regional mobility by upgrading north US-40 on its existing alignment, providing a new connection, and comparing those alternatives against not making any improvements.
- Only by evaluating the full range of alternatives can UDOT make an informed decision that will result in the best solution overall.
- Ignoring potential alternatives or dismissing them prematurely would not result in a full examination of impacts and tradeoffs and would leave the process open to legal risk.
- The screening process determines which alternatives will move forward for detailed evaluation and, at this stage, UDOT will eliminate alternatives only based on screening criteria that identify them as clearly not reasonable. Reasonable alternatives are those that are technically and economically feasible, rather than simply desirable.
- Level 1 screening criteria evaluate how well an alternative meets the project purpose.
- Level 2 screening criteria evaluate impacts to key resources including wetlands.
- Alternatives that pass through screening will be evaluated in detail in the Draft EIS.
- The Draft EIS analysis is when detailed impacts to open space, visual impacts, water quality, wildlife, community impacts, and so on, will be evaluated. The results of this detailed evaluation will inform UDOT’s selection of a preferred alternative.
- UDOT can’t eliminate alternatives for impacts to these resources during screening because the analysis has not been done yet.
Public Involvement
- The EIS project team encourages public involvement throughout each phase of the study and will consider public input in developing the EIS as well as to support the decision-making process.
- This EIS will feature a robust public process, including formal public comment periods, public meetings, solicitation of public input, email updates and notifications, and project information shared on social media channels and the project website.
- Preferred alternatives are not determined based on the amount of positive or negative comments received.
- Commenting is not a vote on an alternative or action, but a way for the public to provide the project team with information for consideration in the NEPA decision-making process.
- Decisions will be made by following the process, utilizing best available data including public input.
- Comments received outside of the Draft EIS formal comment period will be documented in the project record but will not be formally responded to or included in the Final EIS.
- Only responses to comments made during the Draft EIS formal comment period will be included in the Final EIS.
- Social media discussions are not part of the official EIS record, but they provide insightful information and help the team make the most informed transportation decisions for the Heber Valley study area.
- Outside of the formal NEPA public comment periods, the EIS team will update the public on the current status of the project and provide notice when new information will be available.
- Preferred alternatives are not determined based on the amount of positive or negative comments received.
- Commenting is not a vote on an alternative or action but a way for the public to provide the project team with information for consideration in the NEPA decision-making process.
- Decisions will be made by following the process, utilizing best available data including public input.
- Comments received outside of the Draft EIS formal comment period will be documented in the project record but will not be formally responded to or included in the Final EIS.
- Only responses to comments made during the Draft EIS formal comment period will be included in the Final EIS.
- Social media discussions are not part of the official EIS record, but they provide insightful information and help the team make the most informed transportation decisions for the Heber Valley study area.
- As the EIS progresses, the project team will update the public on the current status of the project and provide notice when new information will be available.
Contact Us
For more information on the environmental study underway in the Heber Valley and to share your ideas, please contact the project team through one of the ways listed below.
The environmental review, consultation, and other actions required by applicable Federal environmental laws for this project are being or have been carried-out by UDOT pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327 and a Memorandum of Understanding dated May 26, 2022, and executed by FHWA and UDOT.
