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Latest extension of Mountain View Corridor through West Valley City almost complete

Feb 01, 2021 03:27PM ● By Darrell Kirby

A nearly finished section of Mountain View Corridor crosses 3500 South in West Valley City. (Photo courtesy of UDOT)

By Darrell Kirby | [email protected]

Are we there yet? 

Almost. 

The extension of Mountain View Corridor from 4100 South to state Route 201 in West Valley City is now down to just a matter of a few months before it welcomes motorists. 

What began in spring 2019 with some homes and buildings being razed and tons of earth moved along the latest 4-mile path of the highway is in the final stages of construction. 

“We’re sitting at 85% complete” as of mid-January, said Codee Raymond, project engineer with the Utah Department of Transportation. “The majority of the pavement is in, the majority of the structure work has been completed.” He says most of the remainder of the project will focus on erecting barriers and noise walls along the sides of the highway. Everything is on schedule for an early summer opening of the roadway. 

Finishing touches will also include installing signs, crash cushions, guardrails and other necessities to make the highway navigable and safe. Lighting and traffic signals are being put in at state Route 85’s (its official designation) bigger intersections at 3500 South and Parkway Boulevard and where it connects to S.R. 201. 

Mountain View Corridor will also cater to pedestrians and bicyclists with overpasses for them nearly finished at 3500 South, 3100 South, and Parkway Boulevard. Those crossings are part of a trail system that will run alongside this newest stretch of highway. Trail access and accompanying parking are also nearly finished at several points along the corridor. 

Despite periodic inconveniences for drivers, residents and businesses, Raymond says the public feedback has been mostly positive through the duration of the project. “I wouldn’t say we haven’t had our hiccups,” he said, pointing to impacts on businesses around 3500 South and 5600 West. “We did everything we could to work with them. At the end of the day, I think we all have a product that we’re happy with.” 

Raymond says the new section of Mountain View Corridor is expected to alleviate congestion, especially along 5600 West, which experiences heavy northbound traffic weekday mornings and similar slow-going heading south during late afternoons. 

The nearly finished stretch of Mountain View Corridor is the latest section of the four-lane highway that will run 35 miles from state Route 73 in Utah County to Interstate 80 at its completion, providing a much-needed north-south route on the fast-growing west side of Salt Lake and northern Utah counties. The segment from S.R. 201 to I-80 has not yet been funded and there is no clear schedule for when it will be built. The goal is to convert Mountain View Corridor into a full-fledged freeway some years down the road.