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 published the Final Alternatives Development and Screening Report on Jan. 16, 2023. The final report contains the public comments received on the draft report and incorporates the updated Level 2 screening data for wetlands and Section 4(f) historic buildings, evaluates the Provo River Restoration Project as a Section 4(f) resource, and also shows a shift in the alignment of Alternatives WB3 and WB4 to minimize wetland impacts.
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: 1-16-2023
UDOT has published the Final Alternatives Development and Screening Report and public comments received in the formal comment period last summer.
The final report includes new appendices to document the notification for the draft screening report release, presentations given to stakeholders and local councils, and the comments received during the alternatives screening comment period. It also incorporates the updated Level 2 screening data for wetlands and Section 4(f) historic buildings and evaluates the Provo River Restoration Project as a Section 4(f) resource. The final report also shows a shift in the alignment of Alternatives WB3 and WB4 to minimize wetland impacts.
UDOT published the Draft Alternatives Development and Screening Report on June 7, 2022. The report detailed how the study team evaluated the 17 preliminary alternatives initially presented to the public and six new alternatives suggested by the public during the comment period held during Oct. 2021 in a three-level screening process.
A public comment period was held from June 7 to July 22, 2022 to receive input on the range of alternatives, the criteria used to screen alternatives as they relate to the project’s purpose and key environmental resources, and the initial impact analysis to advise the screening process.
Project Status Update
What activities have been completed?
Several field surveys have been completed. Survey findings are analyzed objectively to ensure UDOT is developing the best data possible and conducting a thorough analysis of potential impacts.
- Aquatic Resources Field Survey: The completed aquatic resource survey was incorporated into the Final Alternatives Development and Screening Report and will be incorporated into the Draft EIS.
- Biological Field Survey: The biological survey is complete. Information collected as part of the survey will be used to further evaluate the alternatives. The results of this evaluation will be documented in the Draft EIS.
- Historic Building Survey: The historic building survey is complete and was incorporated into the Final Alternatives Development and Screening Report and will be incorporated into the Draft EIS.
What activities are ongoing?
Archaeological Field Survey: The archaeological survey is ongoing, so expect to see project team members out in the study area when the snow melts. The team is coordinating with property owners as needed. The archeology findings will be incorporated into the Draft EIS.
Draft EIS preparation: Engineering refinement for the Draft EIS is in progress, including additional design work to provide details such as drainage design and stormwater management, right-of-way needs, intersection design, and pedestrian and bicycle accommodations. The Draft EIS will document the detailed evaluation of the five alternatives identified in the Final Alternatives Development and Screening Report including impacts to: land use, open space, communities, neighborhoods, residential and commercial properties, air quality, water resources and water quality, wildlife and special status species, visual setting and cultural resources, and more.
What has changed?
The Project Timeline: The overall project timeline has been extended. Enlarging the study area to include alternatives to the north required more time for the additional field studies and UDOT also took extra time with the travel demand model to ensure the most accurate analysis of projected growth.
Changes between the Final Alternatives Development and Screening Report and the Draft EIS:
- The Draft EIS will include more detailed alternatives information as well as a detailed and expanded evaluation of environmental impacts.
- An easy way to distinguish between the screening report and the Draft EIS is that the screening report looks at a few environmental resources without a detailed analysis. The Draft EIS looks at many environmental resources in detail. A list of resources that are commonly evaluated in EISs for highway projects is available at this link: FHWA Technical Advisory T 6640.8A – “Guidance for Preparing and Processing Environmental and Section 4(f) Documents.”
- The detailed analysis in the Draft EIS will allow a comparison of alternatives, including the No-Action alternative, to help inform a decision on the preferred alternative.
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.
