Regional HIghway Grid
The population of Utah County is on track to reach the current population of Salt Lake County in 30 years, nearly doubling from 700,000 people today to 1.2 million. Many existing regional roads in Utah County are already at capacity and will not be able to meet the future demand of travelers. We as a region must make important infrastructure decisions to improve travel options and develop a system capable of absorbing this growth.
Creating a regional highway grid is part of the solution. A well-connected grid allows for more vehicle routes, safer options for bicyclists and pedestrians, and better coverage for transit vehicles. An adequately sized and spaced road network can disperse traffic, reduce travel times, and keep local trips off regional highways.
Historically, roads began from small, nodal towns with little attention to regional connections...
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History of Utah County Highways
Better connectivity benefits the economy, improves safety, moves more people, and enhances transit...
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Benefits of a Highway Grid
TransPlan50 aims to create a highway grid that balances both spacing and sizing...
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Designing a Highway Grid
Proposed Utah cOunty Highway Grid
Proposed Utah County Grid
To create a grid network of regional, connected highways in Utah County, MPO staff worked with municipal staff to draft a plan that allows for properly spaced corridors within new developing areas and already developed urban areas. In many cases, road corridors within developed areas are mostly complete. What is needed are connections to adjoining roads in neighboring municipalities. Some proposals would require little to no neighborhood disruption; others could be more complicated. The proposed grid plan is a starting place to begin the discussion. The proposal is to work with each municipality and the county through their planning processes to vet what corridors can work, which need adjusting, and what will not work. Funding is another issue. Currently, only local and regional funds can fund these types of facilities, which are insufficient. State-wide solutions will most likely need to be sought to support these regional non-state-owned roads.
Slide between the left map, which shows the current connections, and the right, which shows the proposed connections.
Utah County Grid Potential Costs and Impacts
To create a grid network of arterial and collector highways in Utah County, MPO staff worked with municipal staff to draft a plan that allows for properly spaced corridors within new developing areas and already developed urban areas. In many cases, road corridors within the developed areas are mostly complete. What is needed are connections to adjoining roads in neighboring municipalities. Some proposals would require little to no neighborhood disruption; others could be more complicated. The proposed grid plan is a starting place to begin the discussion. The proposal is to work with each municipality and the county through their planning processes to vet what corridors can work, which need adjusting, and what will not work. Funding is another issue. Currently, only local and regional funds can fund these types of facilities, which are insufficient. State-wide solutions will most likely need to be sought to support these regional non-state-owned roads.
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