This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Environmentalists have attacked the proposed Utah Lake Bridge as harmful to Utah Lake's environment and a potential enabler of urban sprawl on the lake's west shore.
Now, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups say studies show the bridge will not be cost-effective.
An analysis by Vermont-based Smart Mobility land-use consultants says it would take 58 to 87 years of collecting tolls to pay back investors in the first phase of the project -- assuming none wanted interest on their money.
The Sierra Club and other groups submitted the findings, based on traffic data from Mountainland Association of Governments, to the state Division of Forestry, Fire and Sovereign Lands on Monday. The division is evaluating developer Leon Harward's plans to span the lake with a pair of privately-owned toll bridges. The division is also looking at a proposal from environmentalists that calls for leaving the lake as it is.
"It just goes to show that this is not a viable option, and the state should just reject it," said Marc Heilesen, the Sierra Club's regional representative.
Harward dismissed the report. "They're entitled to their opinions," he said.
His plan would charge drivers $3 to go each way on the bridge. The collected tolls would be used to pay back investors who will put up $600 million for the entire project, as well as cover operating costs.
Financial viability is one of the factors the state must weigh before approving Harward's plan.
The report, written by Smart Mobility principal Lucy Gibson, determined the main people using the bridge would be residents of Saratoga Springs and Orem, the two cities that will be linked by the proposed 5.8-mile Utah Crossing.
Gibson said Eagle Mountain residents would find the bridge inconvenient. She said most of the drivers now using Lehi's Main Street to reach Eagle Mountain would use the Mountain View Corridor and Pioneer Crossing, which are both under construction and would be free.
"The proponents of Utah Crossing also appear to be assuming that most traffic between Eagle Mountain and the I-15 corridor is traveling south toward Provo rather than north toward Salt Lake County," Gibson wrote. "In fact, more than half of the Eagle Mountain commuting traffic heads north on the I-15 corridor, and will therefore not find the Utah Crossing bridge useful for their travel."
That leaves 6,095 cars in 2030 using the bridge, Gibson said. At $3 for each one-way trip, the bridge would generate only $6.19 million a year, or $4.12 million if the toll were lowered to $2 a trip. After subtracting operating costs, the investors who would put up the $300 million to build the first span of the two-span bridge would get between 1.15 and 1.73 percent back on their investment, depending on the toll amount.
The Sierra Club was joined by the Utah Valley Earth Forum, Utah Waterfowl Association, Bonneville School of Sailing and Seamanship, and Friends of Great Salt Lake in a petition to stop the bridge.