UDOT shares travel time estimates for Heber Valley bypass options

Wasatch County leaders have been discussing plans for a bypass to divert traffic from Heber City’s main drag for decades.

The Utah Department of Transportation admitted in October that it had waited too long to select a route and without adjustments, none of the options it was considering would be sufficient to meet the valley’s needs.

At a Wasatch County Council meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 11, UDOT regional project manager Craig Hancock said the agency is on schedule to complete a route by spring 2026. He said UDOT is creating a modified list of route options.

Hancock showed early designs of the four new bypass options. Two would connect to US 40 at 900 North, with new lanes added to US 40. The other two would travel through the North Fields and reconnect with US 40 at River Road.

According to UDOT, all four possible routes could be built either on the ground, which has less impact on the surrounding area, or with overpasses and ramps, which reduce travel times.

“We are in the process of modifying the alternatives and they basically fall into two types of modifications,” he said. “First, we are adding an additional lane to North US 40. This is for our ground-level alternatives.”

Utah Department of Transportation

That would mean three lanes in each direction north of the 900 North intersection in Heber at ground level.

The other option is what Hancock calls “free-flow alternatives.”

“Basically what that means is that if someone drives through, they can basically cross the entire bypass route without having to stop,” he said.

For at-grade routes passing through the North Fields, UDOT predicts the trip between the River Road intersection and State Route 189 south of town would take eight to nine minutes.

The same routes, with free-flow adjustments, could cut travel time to about six minutes, according to forecasts for the evening rush hour in 2050.

If the bypass were reconnected to a widened US 40 at 900 North, travel between the same points would take 10 to 13 minutes using at-grade options. Free flow options would take about seven minutes.

Utah Department of Transportation

“I’m giving you information hot off the press,” Hancock said.

Hancock noted that the free-flow options would be faster, but the impact on the landscape would be greater than routes without grade separation.

Hancock also showed how much time drivers could save by using the bypass instead of taking the main road, according to UDOT. Rising options connecting to 900 North would save the least time, while free-flow routes would be the most efficient. These predictions also used models of rush hour traffic in 2050.

He stressed that no solution will eliminate traffic in downtown Heber.

“Main Street will always be busy no matter what we do,” he said. “But we will see a good diversion from 40 to the bypass.”

Hancock said UDOT will continue to meet with Heber City and Wasatch County leaders to provide updates on the bypass. There will also be a meeting with the Wasatch Open Lands Board in January 2025 regarding conservation efforts and the bypass.