How to spend $5B on roads, trains, trails and bikes? Wasatch Front planners want to hear from you

Regional planners are seeking public comment on an updated draft of the Transportation Improvement Program for 2018-2023 — which prioritizes how to spend nearly $5 billion — for Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Tooele, Morgan and Box Elder counties.

The Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC) is accepting comments through Aug. 5. A list of projects is available at wfrc.org/tip, and residents can comment on it there.

To qualify for federal funding, highway and transit projects must be included in that plan — which is updated every year by the cities and counties that participate with that regional planning agency.

"Our population has doubled over the last 30 yeas, and is anticipated to nearly double in the next 30," said WFRC Executive Director Andrew Gruber. "Now, more than ever, we must work together to coordinate our transportation investments."

Some of the projects newly added or expanded include:

• $495 million to extend the Mountain View Corridor highway from 4100 South to State Road 201. Connecting it to the SR-201 freeway is expected to improve east-west and north-south traffic flow in western Salt Lake County.

• $610 million for the West Davis Corridor, sort of a northwestern expansion of the Legacy Parkway. The project is awaiting a final environmental impact statement. The Utah Transportation Commission has said it intends to use part of $1 billion in bonds that the state plans to issue over four years for highways for that project.

• $159 million for more freewaylike interchanges on Bangerter Highway at 6200 South, 10400 South and 12600 South. Current projects are in the process of adding such interchanges at 5400 South, 7000 South, 9000 South and 11400 South.

• $275 million to improve an 8-mile stretch of U.S. 89 in eastern Davis County.

• $158 million to extend freeway express lanes another 10 miles on Interstate 15 from Layton to Interstate 84.

• A new $90 million I-15 interchange at 1800 North in Sunset near Hill Air Force Base to reduce congestion.

• Expanding the GREENbike program in Salt Lake City and starting that program in Ogden.

• $96 million in upgrades to the 24th Street interchange on I-15 in Ogden.

• $2.5 million to upgrade two FrontRunner engines to burn cleaner fuel.

• More than a half-million dollars for the River Parkway in West Haven to provide the last section needed to complete 100 miles of connected trails between Ogden and Provo, dubbed the "golden spoke."

The council has set two open houses to discuss the plan. They are scheduled from 4:30 to 7 p.m. July 18 at the Ogden Intermodal Transit Center, 2350 Wall Ave. in Ogden; and at the same hours on July 20 at the Salt Lake Central Station, 250 S. 600 West in Salt Lake City. —

Open houses on proposed improvements

The Wasatch Front Regional Council has set two open houses to discuss the Transportation Improvement Program for 2018-2023. They are:

• 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. July 18 at the Ogden Intermodal Transit Center, 2350 Wall Ave. in Ogden.

• 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. July 20 at the Salt Lake Central Station, 250 S. 600 West in Salt Lake City.

A list of projects is available at wfrc.org/tip, and residents can comment there through Aug. 5.