August 2021 | Vol. 17 Iss. 08
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UDOT’S TRANSPORTATION SOLUTION TO SKI TRAFFIC IN LITTLE COTTONWOOD By Cassie Goff | c.goff@mycityjournals.com
T
he last few weeks of July in Cottonwood Heights were filled with conversation around the Utah Department of Transportation’s Little Cottonwood Canyon Environmental Impact Study (EIS). UDOT released their Draft EIS on June 25, which identified their two preferred canyon transportation alternatives. They have since been taking public comment. UDOT initially began the EIS in 2018 in order to look for ways to alleviate traffic congestion within Little Cottonwood Canyon, with the goal of implementing the best one within the upcoming years. During the summer months of 2020, five transportation alternatives were researched and discussed. The five transportation alternatives identified were: enhanced bus service, enhanced bus service with roadway widening, a gondola from the Little Cottonwood Park and Ride, a Gondola from La Caille, and a COG rail from La Caille. On July 20, Project Manager Josh Van Jura presented UDOT’s two preferred alternatives to the Cottonwood Heights City Council. UDOT’s first preferred transportation alternative is an enhanced bus service with a widened roadway. The enhanced bus service would include two main mobility hubs at the gravel pit (roughly 6900 S. Wasatch Blvd.) and 9400 S. Highland Drive. Busses would leave these hubs every five minutes heading directly up Little Cottonwood Canyon to either Snowbird or Alta. These
busses would be able to jump traffic ques and pass personal vehicles. In order to make that possible, part of Wasatch Blvd. would need to be widened to include a dedicated bus lane. “On certain days, it’s likely to be faster than driving your personal vehicle. What better motivation when you want to go skiing to see a bus passing you going uphill,” Van Jura said. The enhanced bus service option would cost $510 million initially for startup and construction costs with $11 million annually for operation and maintenance. Van Jura shared this enhanced bus service option is ultimately UDOT’s preferred choice. This alternative meets UDOT’s mobility goal, even though the visual impact from widening Wasatch Blvd. would be significant and there is potential for water quality concerns. The second preferred transportation alternative is a gondola from La Caille. The gondola would include a base station north of La Caille (a privately owned restaurant) (roughly 9565 S. Wasatch Blvd.) with 1,500 parking stalls. Gondolas would leave every two minutes to travel through the canyon directly to two stations, one located at Snowbird and the other at Alta. In order to make that possible, 23 towers would need to be built at pivotal points within the canyon. “Because it operates in that separate
The two preferred transportation alternatives were chosen because they met two of UDOT’s goals: mobility and reliability. (File photo Joshua Wood/City Journals)
alignment above the roadway, if you have a slow-moving vehicle, a slide off, or even avalanche debris on the road, the gondola could still provide a consistent travel time,” Van Jura said. This gondola is the second most expensive transportation alternative at $592
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million initially for startup and construction costs with $7.6 million annually for maintenance and operation. This alternative meets UDOT’s reliability goal, with low impacts to wildlife Continued page 4
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