Should SR111 in Salt Lake County be byway, freeway, or stay same, old way?

Before neighborhoods snug up to the Oquirrh Mountain slopes, transportation planners want to be sure Salt Lake County's westernmost highway is ready for the traffic.

Should State Road 111 become a seven-lane byway with traffic signals? Or should the so-called Bacchus Highway grow into a full-scale freeway? Should the road remain in the same place? Or should it wrap around Magna's west side to the north or forge a more convenient connection with Herriman to the south?

The Utah Department of Transportation is weighing those possibilities as part of a $462,000 study of the SR111 corridor, meant to guide the highway's development during the next 30 years.

The agency will present its proposals Thursday at Webster Community Center, 8952 W. 2700 South, Magna. The open house runs from 4 to 7 p.m.

"There is a lot of room for expansion on the west side of the valley," UDOT spokesman Adan Carrillo said. "We are just trying to be proactive about what we need now and what we need in the future."

UDOT began the study late last year, examining a now-remote section of the highway near 8400 West between State Road 201 in Magna and Butterfield Park Road in Herriman. A final plan is expected by year's end.

Recommendations for the road are available online at udot.utah.gov/sr-111.

Rolen Yoshinaga, the county's director of planning and development, hopes the study will lead to a safer roadway. Combine the speed of traffic and the sometimes-rolling terrain, he said, and blind spots occur.

"Right now," Yoshinaga said, "we are looking at this project mostly in terms of safety."

He suspects SR111 — even with construction of the Mountain View Corridor to the east — will get "significant use" as the valley grows westward.

Although the study includes no specific time frame for improvements, Carrillo said some could come sooner than later. One recommendation: rumble strips. If the study finds them necessary, Carrillo said, they could be installed in as little as a year.

jstettler@sltrib.com

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Open house

P The Utah Department of Transportation will stage an open house on the future of State Road 111 from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Webster Community Center, 8952 W. 2700 South, Magna. Find more information at udot.utah.gov/sr-111.