PROJECT UPDATE
As a result of the high level of public interest, and as part of our commitment to maintaining an open and public process, UDOT has made the public comments received during the Draft EIS comment period available on the study website. Those interested in reviewing the comments can find them on the Draft EIS page.

Draft EIS Comments
We received approximately 700 comments on the Draft EIS during the formal comment period from Jan. 9 to March 9, 2026. Our initial assessment was around 800 comments but when reviewing for publishing, many of these comments were duplicates, confirmation of receipt, or request for information on the public meetings and removed.

UDOT published the Draft EIS on the project website on Jan. 7. The official 60‑day comment period began on Jan. 9 when the notice of availability was published in the Federal Register. By law, the official comment period cannot exceed 60 days. UDOT asked commenters who submitted comments on Jan. 7 and Jan. 8 to resubmit after Jan. 9. Additional comments were received between Jan. 7 and Jan. 8, when the community was first notified of the Draft EIS publication and upcoming comment period and are not included with the comments published.

We are currently doing a comprehensive review of all formal comments received on the Draft EIS. Public input from all comment periods informs the overall decision-making process. We will provide responses to formal comments received on the Draft EIS with the Final EIS.

Last month, we provided the community with responses to the most common questions from the comment period through Feb. 2026. These were not formal responses to comments received but were provided for the community to review and help inform their comments for the remainder of the comment period.

How are comments used?
It’s important to note that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process UDOT follows doesn’t tally comments as a “yes” or “no” vote like a referendum. The NEPA public comment process is not a vote, but rather an opportunity for UDOT to field concerns, suggestions or criticism for a project’s purpose and need, proposed alternatives, and to evaluate whether additional engineering or environmental analysis is needed, as well as the mitigation measures proposed to minimize environmental impact. 

The public comment periods and input received throughout the EIS process provide opportunities for us to improve the study documentation and make sure it’s thorough, accurate, and complete. 

UDOT will consider all comments received on the Draft EIS and other formal public comments when deciding which alternative is selected in the Final EIS and Record of Decision (ROD). Public comments are only part of the information analyzed in the decision-making process. UDOT also determines how an alternative best meets the project purpose, and considers an alternative’s environmental impacts, which includes impacts to water quality, air quality, along with visual, noise and property impacts, among others.