By Charles Pekow — The Midvalley Highway Project in Tooele County, Utah won final approval from the Federal Highway Administration. The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) determined that the area needs better bike connections and the project will include a 12-foot-wide bike/ped path along the highway, noting that “(n)o dedicated bike lanes are present in the study area” and despite eight schools in the study area, no designated safe routes to school exist.
The plan includes eventually providing a variety of multi-use and separated bike lanes in the area, including a connection between the Midvalley Highway and SR-36 at the southern end of Tooele Valley.
The project will extend Midvalley Highway and build an accompanying bike path from SR-138 to SR-36 through Erda City, Grantsville City, and Tooele City.
UDOT still has to find funding for the project. “It could be 10-15 years out,” says A. Oanh Le-Spradlin, P.E., UDOT Region Two project manager. The local communities will have to push for it, she says. “We (UDOT) cannot lobby for the funds,” though it can apply for grant money when available. “We encourage local governments and the local communities to apply for money and we will help you with it when we can.” It likely will be built in stages, she suggests.
See https://udot.utah.gov/midvalley
