[0:04] Good afternoon and welcome to uh our
transcom meeting on this August the
[0:09] 20th, 2026. It's 1:36. Sorry for the
delayed uh start. This is a transcom and
[0:18] uh we'd like to excuse our chair, Mayor
Mark Shepard. Uh he's out of town. Uh or
[0:25] he's not in this town, so he would be in
another town that's out away from here.
[0:31] Uh
would like to have you start down there.
[0:35] Uh thank you so much at uh let's start
with you, Rosie, and then we'll go
[0:40] around the table. Then I'll have Andrea
introduce those of you who have chosen
[0:44] to be online, and then she'll give you
the instructions then. But Rosie, go
[0:49] ahead. Rosie Hernandez and I'm part of
the admin team at WFRC.
[0:54] » Jordan Chandler, also part of the admin
team at WFRC.
[0:59] » Tiffany PCO, UDOT, program development.
>> Dan Dugan, Salt Lake City,
[1:06] » Brook Duza, Sandy City Council.
>> Sheldon Burge, Tila Cog,
[1:14] » Andrea Pearson, part of the admin team
at WFRC. Andrew Guber, executive
[1:19] director here at WFRC. Welcome everybody
in person and online.
[1:24] » Wayne Benion, WFRC staff.
>> Ed Nolton, WFRC deputy director, chief
[1:30] planner.
>> Ivan Morero, Federal Highway
[1:33] Administration.
>> Jiren Robertson with Utah Transit
[1:36] Authority.
>> Ethan Ray, project manager, UTA.
[1:41] » Fibultani, WFRC staff.
Matt Gray and I've just started with
[1:47] Salt Lake County as transportation
program coordinator.
[1:52] » Ben Wri, uh, was headfront staff short-
range planning.
[1:57] » For those of you who are in the hallway,
we invite you to come in now. Uh,
[2:01] Andrea, go ahead.
>> Okay. Online today, um, I'll just say
[2:07] three of you and have you introduced
yourselves. Uh, Commissioner Crofts,
[2:11] Mayor Burton, and Commissioner Blocker.
Hello, John Crofts, Davis County.
[2:19] » Derek Martin, mayor of West Jordan, new
recipient on the bond for rec center.
[2:27] » Railen Blocker, commissioner in Morgan
County.
[2:33] » Okay, next. Um, Meg Padin, Nicole
Bordeaux, and Mayor Bingham.
[2:40] Hi, Meg Padin, community and economic
development director, Wasach Front
[2:43] Regional Council.
>> Good afternoon. Nicole Berto at the Utah
[2:48] Transit Authority.
>> Sher Bingham, mayor of Hipper City.
[2:55] » Um, Mayor Jackson, Johnny Nordon, Mayor
Palmer.
[3:04] » Hi, this is Sher Jackson from Mil Creek.
John Aaron with Front Regional Council.
[3:12] » Uh Lauren Palmer, mayor out in Haramman
>> and uh Carlton Christensen
[3:20] and um Mayor Fatheringham.
>> Uh Carlton Christensen, economic
[3:25] development director for this Sandy
City.
[3:32] And
>> Mayor Fatheringham is waving. It looks
[3:34] like he might be driving, so we're
probably good. And then we have uh some
[3:38] other attendees online as well.
>> Very good. Thank you so much, Andrea. Uh
[3:44] our first action.
>> Sorry.
[3:46] » Okay.
>> I apologize. I also missed uh
[3:51] » uh Tom Jacobson um part of our
commission. U
[3:57] » Good afternoon everyone. It's not
>> Good afternoon. Thank you. Anyone else?
[4:02] » Good to go. Our first action item is the
approval for the minutes the on the
[4:06] meeting that we held here on June the
18th, 2026. Uh entertain a motion for
[4:11] approval.
>> Mr. Chair, I move for approval.
[4:15] » Thank you. Accepted.
>> Need a second.
[4:18] » Yep, that's me.
>> That's great. Thank you so much. Place
[4:22] that motion for vote. All in favor?
>> I.
[4:25] » Great. Any opposed? Motion carries
unanimously. Our next item is what will
[4:31] be our chair's report. Uh, as you're
aware, one of the WFRC's primary
[4:35] activities is programming funds for the
transportation projects and technical
[4:40] assistance, putting resources in the
hands of our local communities. I'd like
[4:44] to turn the time over right now to Mr.
Wayne Benign to briefly remind us of
[4:48] these programs and their due dates.
[4:54] » Thanks, Mr. Chair. Uh with a new funding
cycle approaching soon, we just wanted
[5:01] to take this opportunity to remind you
of the uh funding programs, the
[5:06] resources that are available through
WFRC.
[5:10] You can see uh the first four of these
five programs on the first slide are
[5:17] capital improvement programs and then
there's also the transportation and land
[5:22] use connection program. All five of
these have letters of intent that'll be
[5:27] due September 30th. So, we wanted to
encourage all of you to think about
[5:35] needs in your cities and your
communities and uh talk with your staff
[5:41] and consider applying for uh submitting
a letter of intent for these programs.
[5:48] Uh we plan to
go out to the councils of government in
[5:54] each of the counties uh in September and
also talk with uh your staff at our
[6:03] technical advisory committee meetings
and give them more detailed information.
[6:08] There will also be u a
email coming out around September 2nd
[6:16] with uh with additional information on
not only these five programs but also uh
[6:25] the four on this uh last slide. Uh these
latter four do not need a letter of
[6:32] intent. They're on a different timeline,
different time frame. Um, but the
[6:38] information we send out will have
contact information regarding these four
[6:44] programs as well as the five on the
first slide. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
[6:49] » Thank you for that review, Wayne.
Appreciate that. Uh, are there any
[6:53] questions for Wayne Wayne before we move
on? Seeing none or hearing none, I'll
[6:57] move on to the public comment portion of
the agenda. We have some uh public here
[7:03] uh at the WFRC and also online. We
encourage those of you either in person
[7:09] or online to comment if you'd like to.
Uh we'd like you to if you do decide to
[7:14] comment, we'd love for you to limit your
comments to three minutes and also those
[7:19] items that will only appear on this
agenda if you would. Are there any that
[7:24] would like to comment at this time?
Seeing none in person, are there any
[7:29] online?
[7:32] » No comments online.
>> No comments online. Thank you very much.
[7:35] Then we'll move on to our item number
four, the transportation improvement
[7:40] program known as the TIP. Uh today we
have two items to recommend to the
[7:46] regional council for action regarding
the transportation improvement program.
[7:50] First, the requests are to modify the
existing 2026 to 2031 tip with Ben
[7:56] Richwood. He'll Ben will review those
things with us. And then the second is
[8:00] the 2027 to 2032 transportation
improvement program. When we get to that
[8:06] uh that item, Ben will give us some some
more time to remind us a bit about the
[8:10] public involvement uh efforts and the
public comments received. After that,
[8:15] we'll open it up for for some
discussion. Ben, let's uh start with the
[8:20] first one, item number 4A, which is the
board modification to the 2026 2031
[8:25] transportation improvement program. Go
ahead. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
[8:30] So, in your meeting materials, you
should have well, you do have you'll
[8:35] have three tables in in your meeting
materials. And those tables identify
[8:40] seven projects that are before us at
this time for board modification into
[8:45] the 2026 2031
transportation improvement program.
[8:50] We'll go through each one of those
projects in a fairly quick manner for
[8:54] your review and then seek your approval
for this board modification. So the very
[9:00] first project we have is a project up in
Weber County. This is a project on 2700
[9:05] North.
This is for a future rail crossing here.
[9:10] Here we have the rail both UTA and Union
Pacific Rails that cross 2700 North.
[9:18] Here's a picture looking to the west.
Here's a picture looking to the east.
[9:27] The intent of this request is to seek
funding or UDOT is seeking federal funds
[9:34] to be able to do a concept report in
this project with the intent that as
[9:41] each phase is moving forward that those
funds will be sought after through
[9:46] federal grants. So this first grant is
to develop a project concept uh
[9:52] coordinate between the stakeholders and
then put together a partial design for
[9:57] this separated grade crossing. Uh this
estimated project cost is $2.5 million.
[10:05] The next project we have is a project in
Davis County. This project on I-15 and
[10:10] it's located there at 650 North.
There are two I-15 structures over 650
[10:17] north. There's the northbound and
there's the southbound. And both of
[10:21] these structures are just worn right out
to where to the point that regular
[10:26] maintenance is no longer a viable
option.
[10:30] Here's a picture again in the upper left
looking west and then a picture looking
[10:35] north.
Here's a picture underneath these
[10:39] structures on both directions.
[10:48] So the intent of this is to replace
these structures. In fact, UDOT wants to
[10:54] replace these structures and implement
I-15 modifications that'll address
[10:59] future needs on I-15.
Uh UD do is seeking additional federal
[11:04] funding for this project at the tune of
64 plus million. They do have $16.2 $2
[11:12] million identified through the
structures program and region one. So
[11:17] the intent is as the department is
seeking these additional funds is if
[11:22] successful in her bid will come back and
this project will go underway.
[11:28] The next project
is a project in Salt Lake County. This
[11:33] is a project on I80.
[11:37] This is between before the turnoff to go
to Mountain Bell or East Canyon
[11:42] Reservoir all the way up to Lamb's
Canyon a little beyond the Lambs Canyon
[11:48] uh turnoff there. The desire of the
department is to extend the climbing
[11:53] lanes on this facility recognizing I80
as a major east west corridor for
[11:59] freight. Um, UD do is also seeking
federal funds on this project to build
[12:06] or construct an additional climbing lane
that will improve the safety for all
[12:12] motorists. But the intent there is to
seek $42 million in federal funds
[12:18] through discretionary grant and the
department currently has $28.4 $4
[12:24] million of state transportation solution
program funds identified for this
[12:30] project for a total project cost of $71
million.
[12:35] That brings us to the second table which
identifies three more projects for us to
[12:41] review. The first project is a project
there in Kwood Canyons there. This is
[12:46] part of our first phasewood Canyons
improvements there. This is to help with
[12:53] the mobility hub. As you'll recall in
the phase or construction of the
[12:59] Cottonwood Canyons increased bus uh and
mobility hub as well as
[13:06] tolling facilities, but this is to
address the an interchange that's
[13:12] necessary here on Wasach Boulevard at
about 6900 South. This will improve
[13:19] access for the mobility hub as well as
local access.
[13:24] This project requires an additional $16
million from the TIFF Compwood Canyons
[13:30] funds, making this total project cost of
$72 million.
[13:37] The next project to look at is a project
on I-15 in South Salt Lake area or the
[13:43] southern part of the valley there
between 106 South and 90th South.
[13:50] This is to address the concrete panels.
The intent there is for the department
[13:57] to continue on. This is a project that's
ongoing. But during construction
[14:02] identified that there was more panels
and there was also some greater depth
[14:06] that needed to be addressed in
replacement of these panels and then
[14:11] doing some grinding so that it would
provide a smooth surface on I-15.
[14:17] Couple of pictures of what's required
when they're out doing this kind of
[14:20] work.
So, the project will repair the concrete
[14:25] panels and then do the pavement grinding
to improve the ride quality. It's
[14:31] estimated that another million dollars
of state transportation solution program
[14:35] funds to be added to this project for a
total project cost of 11.6 million.
[14:43] The next project we have before us is a
little to the north. It's on I-15 there
[14:48] between 7200 South and 5300 South. This
project is also to address the
[14:54] improvements to the concrete panels. But
while it was in design, not only were
[15:00] there additional panels identified like
on the current project to the south, but
[15:05] there was identified some needs to
improve some of the barrier as well as
[15:10] some of the end treatments to the
barriers. So this project
[15:15] again some nighttime efforts to make
those projects happen. You can see the
[15:20] distresses. You know it was pretty hard
and difficult often times to go through
[15:25] and find projects when the department's
working on things of
[15:31] bad pavement or bad work. And then as I
was doing a search looking for these
[15:35] projects, I come across a secret weapon
that UD do uses. And this a picture of
[15:41] the crews down south using a little
sealer there as they repair the road
[15:46] repairs. But all joking aside, UD do a
very efficient and a very effective job
[15:52] on taking care of the facilities all
around our communities. But this project
[15:57] here will repair the concrete panels and
perform the grinding as well as address
[16:02] the barrier repairs and the end
treatments. they will add an additional
[16:07] or the request is to add an additional
$1.7 million to the project for a total
[16:13] project cost of 14 million plus.
That brings us to our last table. This
[16:19] last table was a project that was
identified and on 300 West. is the grade
[16:26] separated project between 100 South and
South Temple. Back during the 20 um
[16:34] during the the 2025 legislative session,
this project was identified and the
[16:40] legislation in the 2025 identified and
programmed
[16:46] $300 million for this particular project
to do a great separated while
[16:51] maintaining traffic operations here on
300 West. However, this past legislative
[16:57] session, the legislative uh reduced that
amount to a maximum of 250 thou or 250
[17:05] million and that is to be used for the
rightway acquisition construction for
[17:11] improvements on and connections to SR89
or 300 West and the surrounding
[17:17] transportation facilities.
Mr. Chair, that is all the board
[17:21] modifications before us.
[17:27] Great. Any questions for Ben? Any
online?
[17:33] Then uh we're looking for a motion to
recommend the regional council approve
[17:36] the resolution to modify the 2026 to
2030 2031 transportation improvement uh
[17:43] program as requested.
>> So moved. John Crops.
[17:47] » Thank you.
Second. Dan Dugan. Appreciate that.
[17:51] Place that motion for vote. All in
favor?
[17:54] » I
>> I
[17:56] » I. [clears throat] Any oppose?
Hearing? None. That motion uh is
[18:01] unanimous. We'll now move on to item 4B
on our action item on our agenda, which
[18:08] is approval of the 2027 to 2032 tip. Uh
go ahead, Ben. Awesome. Real quick
[18:15] before you move on, I just want to uh
welcome Mayor Bram from Immigration and
[18:20] then also Mayor Gail from Morgan City is
online with us.
[18:24] » Great. Thank you.
>> Thanks.
[18:25] » Good catch.
>> Back to the fire.
[18:29] » What a fitting time of year.
>> This is live looking out the window
[18:33] there. Just actually this is for one hot
item we have right now as we talk about
[18:38] item 4B and that's to take action on the
2732
[18:43] transportation improvement program or I
should say the full name of it is the
[18:48] 2027 2032 but we'll reference it as the
2732 tip. So,
[18:56] as many of you are well aware, the
transportation improvement program
[19:00] implements the long range plans of
highway transit and active
[19:03] transportation projects.
Both of these programs work hand in hand
[19:09] for the transportation issues along the
walls front.
[19:13] The tip helps us meet the short range
needs of the walls front and it also
[19:18] provides maintenance of our existing
system. So this document is a pretty
[19:23] important document to worry about and be
a part of.
[19:27] So in the preparation for the draft
document are the tables that identify
[19:33] the programs of all of the projects that
transcom recommended to the regional
[19:37] council for approval. In addition to
those tables are the projects that are
[19:43] identified and initiated through the
department of transportation for
[19:47] programming in consensus with the local
governments and the NPOS's as we work
[19:52] together. In addition to that are the
projects the programs that are
[19:57] administered through FDA as they take
the lead in the coordination of the
[20:02] programming of these projects.
And in addition to identifying all of
[20:06] these projects is the conformity
determination showing that we conform
[20:12] to the analysis
that are necessary for these projects to
[20:17] move forward. So these documents as
they're prepared have gone out for
[20:21] public review and comment. But before we
go into that, let me review back with
[20:25] you where we were our last meeting on
the 17th of June. We've received from
[20:30] you directions to go out for public
review and comment to begin on the 27th
[20:35] of June and conclude on the 2nd of
August. During that time, we had three
[20:40] open houses. We had one open house on
the 21st, one on the 28th, and then we
[20:46] had an online um open house on the 30th.
From all that information, as we
[20:52] collected public comments on that, we
reviewed the summary of those comments
[20:57] with our technical advisory committees
on the 5th of August. And then that
[21:03] information and any other information
we'd gathered to this point is being
[21:08] brought to you and presented to you for
your review and recommendation to the
[21:12] regional council for their meeting next
Thursday. The intent is then once this
[21:20] document is approved, we get all of this
information to UDOT who will then submit
[21:27] with the other three NPOS and a
statewide transportation improvement
[21:31] program. So the STIP incorporates the
four NPOS's tips which are
[21:36] transportation improvement programs with
the state information that is outside
[21:41] the NO boundaries. All of that combines
into a statewide transportation
[21:46] improvement program and that is
submitted to Federal Highways and
[21:50] Federal Transit the 1 of September and
that gives the federal administrations
[21:56] the whole month of September to review
the information and then hopefully we
[22:01] come back and we anticipate the new
transportation improvement program live
[22:07] and ready to go on October 1st. So
that's when we'll have the 2732
[22:12] transportation improvement program. So
when we went out for public review and
[22:17] comment with the tip, there were we sent
out notices. We public notices, we sent
[22:23] out media notices, we sent out um all
the information we could out to the
[22:28] public inviting them to come review the
information. And they could do that in
[22:32] person, they could do that online, they
could do it via emails or however they
[22:37] wanted to. One of our most effective
tools is our online interactive map.
[22:43] This map they're able to go to and
they're able to select a specific
[22:48] project, needle down on it, understand
it a little more, and leave the comments
[22:54] um for the project.
So from that information we collected
[22:59] more than 175 comments via the
interactive map through emails or other
[23:05] correspondents as well as in person or
in the open houses. So in your meeting
[23:12] materials is a copy of the summary of
the public comments received and maybe
[23:18] reviewing there just like the very first
one. Many comments express support for
[23:23] various transportation projects in the
tip and in our response WRC appreciates
[23:29] the public support for the work of of
UTA and local governments in advancing
[23:34] numerous transportation improvements
throughout the region and that's very
[23:39] true. It is the hard work of the
departments and UTA and the local
[23:43] governments that makes all of this
happen.
[23:46] But here's something that's a little
misconceiving. So I might add too that
[23:52] in your meeting materials is a is a copy
of all the public comments received. And
[23:58] I and I wrote this down so that I would
word it right and not get too nervous to
[24:02] say it. But there's some
misunderstanding that happens in a
[24:05] public comment period. Sometimes it's
it's not a matter if I like or I don't
[24:10] like the project. And that's where we
get some feedback. Well, I told you I
[24:14] don't like the project, but you build it
anyway, so you don't listen to me.
[24:18] That's not what the public review and
comment really is. It's important, but
[24:23] what it needs to is it's let me go back
now. I should have just read here.
[24:30] So, I wrote sometimes it's not a matter
of like or don't like, it's that we have
[24:34] a project to complete. What do we need
to know to make it a better project?
[24:39] What do you know that can make this more
productive? How do we get a better
[24:43] result? Help us understand the
complexities and what are the local
[24:47] impacts or what are their needs that are
necessary. There are often times when
[24:52] we're out on a project
that being whoever the local governments
[24:57] do. UTA we don't understand all the
local involvements necessarily that
[25:02] pertain to this area. Case in point is
times when going out for an improvement
[25:08] and someone comes in says you you know
there's there's a well in this area and
[25:13] that requires us to readress some of the
design in the project or are you aware
[25:19] there's a school that's going to be
built in this area that makes us aware
[25:23] of other of improvements and need to um
there was a time there's a project on
[25:29] Foothill Boulevard it was a pedestrian
and landscape improvements and due to
[25:33] the Public comment and input modified
the landscaping areas. It's changed the
[25:39] crossing location and the crossing type
to unique angle crossing to shorten the
[25:44] time to cross and include other roadway
improvements. That came through a public
[25:49] review and comment period.
Another one was a design build on I80.
[25:54] Now, this is a big project. You'd think,
oh, this is an interstate. What can I
[25:58] say to this? But because of public
comment and input, the structures on
[26:04] 1300 East and 1700 East um were widened
for to include exclusive bike lanes on
[26:11] those facilities. So these are the
comments that are received and we take
[26:15] all of this information and what do we
do with them? Well, we document them.
[26:20] Then we take the information and we
share that with project management
[26:23] meetings and then those those comments
that are appropriate to the project get
[26:28] implemented. And so it's important that
the public have input in this process
[26:35] and as we move forward with each
project. Um Mr. Chair, that would be all
[26:40] that I have to report to Transcom. You
know, that's a great report and I
[26:45] appreciate that you uh set aside and and
and you you kept all those comments, but
[26:52] yet you you refined them so that they
can include those things that are
[26:56] important. Then you explained it, Ben,
great job. I think it's a great job.
[27:00] Thank you so much. board. Do you have
any comments for Ben before I uh I I I'm
[27:05] I'm going to look for a motion to
recommend that the regional council
[27:09] approve the resolution adopting the 2027
through 2032 TIP or transportation
[27:16] improvement program and the
corresponding air quality conformity
[27:20] analysis.
I can't there's too many of you at once.
[27:24] Can you
>> I move for approval.
[27:27] » Thank you, Dan. Any second?
[27:34] Thank you, Mr. Souza. Great. I'll place
that motion for vote. All in favor?
[27:38] » I
>> I.
[27:40] » Any opposed?
It passes unanimously. Thank you so
[27:44] much. Moving on to item number five. Mr.
Chair,
[27:47] » go ahead.
>> Briefly, may I interject and just
[27:51] express appreciation? Um, you noted
Ben's good work, and he does indeed do a
[27:56] lot of good work, but what's reflected
more broadly in this in the entirety of
[28:02] the tip is the work of I was going to
say dozens, hundreds of of people and
[28:09] stakeholders and organizations
from obviously the um the metropolitan
[28:14] planning organizations, U.U.TA, a all
the cities, all the cities, all the
[28:18] counties, all the stakeholders that are
involved as Ben noted with uh public
[28:22] engagement. Um there's a lot of
complexity in what's going on here in
[28:27] the infrastructure in our region, the
planning for the future, the investing,
[28:31] the various funding sources. Um and the
and it would not work as well as it does
[28:36] without the intensive coordination that
happens um including on the various
[28:42] funding sources, federal funding sources
that have their own uh requirements and
[28:47] Ivan and the team at FHWA help us
navigating that, state funding sources,
[28:52] uh local funding sources as well.
There's a lot that goes into the
[28:56] billions of dollars of investment in our
infrastructure year in and year out. And
[29:01] so I just want to express appreciation
for the partnership and the hard work.
[29:06] » That's well said. Thank you so much. You
know, I'm sitting here thinking while
[29:10] you're describing all that takes a lot
of effort to get the cows in off the
[29:14] range. You've got to have your panels
set up. You've got to have your feed
[29:17] ready to go so that when you bring them
all in, they're ready to go and things
[29:21] just come together. That's it's great.
>> That's basically exactly what I was
[29:26] thinking, too. [clears throat]
>> Yes. I'm glad it it's a it's a tasty
[29:30] outcome for those of us who care about
beef. Okay, great. I'll move on to item
[29:36] number five. Uh it's an action item
which is a selfcertification of the
[29:41] transportation planning process. Uh
we're going to go to Wayne.
[29:47] Thank you, Mr. Chair. As Ben mentioned,
the tip at the end of this month or
[29:52] first and next will be submitted to the
Federal Highway Administration and the
[29:56] Federal Transit Administration
uh for approval. At that same time,
[30:02] we're also required to submit to them
for approval a document certifying that
[30:09] the regional transportation planning
process is in compliance with federal
[30:15] requirements. And so in your meeting
materials there's a copy of this
[30:20] selfcertification
document and the resolution on the front
[30:25] page. Um and this has been prepared in
cooperation with UD do and UTA
[30:33] and uh it outlines the organizational
structure for the regional council as
[30:42] the as the MO
and it outlines technical elements uh of
[30:48] the planning process such as travel
modeling. It outlines other elements
[30:53] such as public involvement and it also
describes the key products uh such as
[31:00] the regional transportation plan and the
transportation improvement program. Uh
[31:06] so all of that uh to say uh we're
grateful for the uh attitude of co
[31:16] collaboration that's uh exists in this
area and uh because of that we're able
[31:22] to comply with federal requirements and
uh do a lot more in addition to uh
[31:31] meeting the requirements. So, with that,
uh, that's a brief overview of this
[31:38] self-certification document. If anybody
has any questions or comments that'd
[31:43] like to make regarding it, I would be
happy to entertain those.
[31:48] » Any online?
Any online or here in the chamber?
[31:55] » There's no one online.
>> Sorry, none online.
[31:58] » No one commenting on that.
>> Thank you. You know, uh, again, Andrew,
[32:02] I appreciate Wayne and making sure that
he is, uh, is complete with the, uh, and
[32:08] complies with all the regulatory things
they have in the federal government to
[32:13] make sure that we're all safe and
protected, that the liabilities are
[32:18] minimized and taken care of. And, uh,
boy, what a great team. What a great
[32:23] team you have here. Reminds go Utah. I
was going to say, uh, yeah, okay,
[32:28] that'll work.
[32:32] I I once again I'll remind you that the
perfect blend of blue and red is purple.
[32:40] » Yeah. So, go Weber State. Thank you. Uh
I'll look for a motion to recommend that
[32:47] the WFRC council approve the resolution
certifying the transportation planning
[32:51] process.
>> So moved.
[32:54] » Thank you very much, Mr. Bur. Mr. Dugan,
thank you for the second. All in favor
[32:58] say I.
>> I. I
[32:59] » I
>> opposed if any. Thank you very much.
[33:04] That also passes unanim unanimously.
All right. We have with us today Ethan
[33:09] Ray from the UTA. He's a project
manager. He's here to talk to us about
[33:13] the upcoming 5600 West uh enhancement
bus uh route out there in uh Salt Lake
[33:20] County. Uh
>> West Jordan. Yes.
[33:24] » Yeah.
Hair Burton,
[33:29] thank you so much. I noticed your hat
today. You're you're uh Anyway, good for
[33:36] you. All right. Anyway, Ethan, go ahead,
please.
[33:39] » Yeah. Well, thank you for having me and
and thanks uh Mayor Burton for the shout
[33:43] out. We love working with with your team
on this project. So, just wanted to
[33:46] provide a quick overview of the project
today and where we're at and what some
[33:49] of our next steps are. So high level
what some of our goals are is we really
[33:53] want to increase our transit service
along the west side of Salt Lake County
[33:58] uh and really looking at improving
regional mobility with that we have a
[34:01] lot of east west routes that are
terminating at 5600 west uh and we want
[34:05] a really strong north south backbone for
all those routes to tie into that will
[34:09] then connect to all the different um uh
uh residents and employment centers that
[34:15] are along along the corridor to really
provide a a strong uh transit line um
[34:20] for for these folks. So, this uh map
kind of shows uh the the project. We're
[34:25] starting on the south end at our old
Bingham Highway track station on the red
[34:29] line going all the way north along um
the 5600 West corridor connecting to the
[34:35] international center and then to the
airport and ultimately um to to downtown
[34:40] uh Salt Lake City. This project is part
of mount corridor um and it is part of
[34:45] the environmental mitigation for that uh
project um to uh because the community
[34:50] really wanted to see transit in addition
to roadway improvements and it's also
[34:54] been um in our uh 5-year service plan to
to address a lot of the growth that
[34:58] we're we're seeing in this area. We have
a pretty uh diverse set of funding
[35:02] sources for the project. So we have
state funding through TTIF. We have um
[35:06] uh three federal sources of funding
including LONO um which is uh supporting
[35:10] the vehicles. We have a CMAC funding and
then we have a federal earmark that's
[35:14] coming to the project in addition to UTA
funds. Uh the project includes uh 25 CG
[35:20] compressed natural gas buses. So that's
what the the low no money is is for is
[35:24] to is to purchase those buses. And then
we're also expanding our CG fueling
[35:28] building to support the increased CNG
fleet. Uh, as part of this project,
[35:33] we're building 22 new bus stops along uh
5600 West. So, all those circles that
[35:39] you see on the map, those are will be
new stops, all with amenities. They'll
[35:43] have shelters, benches, garbage cans to
really make them um attractive to the
[35:48] community. And then we'll use existing
um stop infrastructure through the
[35:52] downtown area. Um we'll have 15-minute
service um along along this corridor.
[35:57] And like I kind of mentioned earlier,
we're really trying to connect a lot of
[36:00] key destinations. There's a lot of jobs
along along this corridor and this this
[36:03] this route will tie all of those uh
together.
[36:09] As far as schedule, where we're at right
now is we're just kind of wrapping up
[36:13] the final design um stage of the
project. So, we're um pretty much done.
[36:17] Just getting some final comments um from
the the cities along our our corridor on
[36:22] um Oh, one thing I didn't mention uh
previously that's worth um bringing up
[36:26] is we have um four new parking rides um
that are part also part of the project.
[36:32] Um uh we have an existing lot at at 3500
South and then we're adding a lot at uh
[36:37] 5,400 South, 6200 South, 7,800 South,
and 90th South and then existing parking
[36:42] at at Old Bingham Highway Traffic
Station. And we've been working closely
[36:45] with the cities on the design for for
these lots and making sure that they uh
[36:49] will meet the the demand and really meet
the purpose of the Mountain View
[36:53] corridor um project which is looking to
get as much access um into uh the
[36:58] transit system as possible. Um so right
now we're just kind of wrapping up that
[37:02] some of that review um with with the
city cities and then uh the plan is to
[37:06] go start construction early next year.
uh we'll be have about a year of
[37:10] construction and right now we're
scheduled to have revenue service
[37:13] starting in April of 2028.
[37:17] And uh just some really quick just
wanted to kind of show some of the
[37:21] parking rides. So these are smaller
scale parking rides um 20 to to to 40
[37:26] range of of stalls. So not not huge
because we really want them to be more
[37:30] community- based. um they're they all um
have um a location for paratransit
[37:35] service because this is at is at the
edge of our our service zone. So we want
[37:39] people to be able to get access to uh
the paratransit system. So we we've
[37:43] worked really hard to make sure that all
of that is is accommodated um for for
[37:47] these lots. Uh the 5600 west bus route
itself will not pull into these lots.
[37:52] They're right they're all directly off
of 5600 west to allow for fast rapid
[37:56] service on on that corridor. Um we will
have at our 78 um 100 lot which is the
[38:02] bottom left um some infrastructure for
local bus routes to end of line at that
[38:07] location.
[38:10] And then um just as far as uh kind of
the the um CNG fueling building project,
[38:15] wanted to touch on that in a little bit
more detail and kind of some of the
[38:18] specifics on that. So, the CNG fueling
building that was built uh back in 2015
[38:24] ahead of the rest of the depot district
um that's just um around the corner from
[38:28] from here. Um and it was built with two
fueling bays um and it was planned to
[38:33] have a third and now with 25 additional
buses that we're adding to the fleet um
[38:37] there's definitely um the the need for
that for additional fueling capacity. Um
[38:43] and so we're working on that right now.
The ground was broken on this project
[38:46] back in May. Um we anticipate uh being
complete uh towards the end of this
[38:50] year, potentially early uh 2027.
[38:56] And this is just some pictures of some
of the ongoing con uh construction. So
[38:59] in the top left, you can see the the
existing building. Those two black doors
[39:03] are two existing fueling bays. We're
expanding to the east. Um so they've um
[39:08] the the um foundations have been um put
put in. uh in the middle. One of the
[39:14] cool things about this project is we
added structural geop into the ground.
[39:18] Um so this building will be uh really
solid um so that we can we can know that
[39:23] it'll it'll be safe because we are in an
area that's prone to to look up action.
[39:27] So kind of kind of a cool piece just
wanted to point out but should be done
[39:31] uh close to the end of the end of the
year on this project. And that's kind of
[39:35] my quick high level overview. I'm happy
to answer any questions or touch on
[39:38] anything in more detail.
>> Any questions for Mr. Ray? I I've got
[39:42] one
>> just to just go ahead. We'll go to you
[39:45] Dan first.
>> Thanks Ethan for the presentation. You
[39:48] said 15 minute service. Is that seven
days a week?
[39:52] » So it'll it'll follow it'll match our
kind of existing guidelines. So it's
[39:56] it's weekday 15 minute service um like
from early pretty early in the morning
[40:00] to the afternoon and then outside of
that it would be 30 minute service.
[40:04] » Okay. Thank you. where there's
discussions on because it's going to the
[40:08] airport and a lot of the airport workers
are working seven days.
[40:11] » Yeah. So, that that's a really good
point. There are ongoing conversations
[40:15] that we have with the airport on on
service. It's not included in the base
[40:18] project as far as like early and late
night service, but that's something that
[40:21] we talk with them regularly about and
that they're very interested in. So,
[40:25] it's definitely um on the radar.
>> Okay. Thank you.
[40:29] » Great. We're going to go I'm going to
invite
[40:31] » There was Mayor Burton. Pardon me. Just
letting you know. Okay. I'm going to
[40:34] invite uh mayor of West Jordan, Mayor
Dirk Burton to also give some comments
[40:39] at this time.
>> Thank you. We are really thrilled about
[40:43] this. Can you tell us how long this has
been on the UTA plan before the
[40:48] construction started?
>> Yeah, this project has a long uh
[40:53] history. Um it it it originated back in
2008 um with the the Mountain View uh
[40:58] corridor project. Originally, it was
envisioned um to be a a BRT similar to
[41:04] to what to to what we have in Provo
Orum, Ogden, and um in the Mid Valley
[41:09] area. Um as uh the plans developed and
looking at at the the land use around
[41:15] the corridor, um it uh wasn't quite to
the to the level that we we thought
[41:21] would be supportive of more investment
such as dedicated bus lanes. Um so we uh
[41:27] work with UD do um probably it's been
five a little over five years ago now um
[41:33] to amend um the environmental
documentation um for um the Mount View
[41:39] corridor to start with an enhanced bus
so to to to really get start building
[41:44] the market um for the service. Uh the we
currently don't have any future phases
[41:48] of the transit identified. So there
there are uh in the original plan it was
[41:53] a phased approach to to implementation.
So, this is just phase one. So, in the
[41:57] in the future, there's definitely room
potential for room for um more
[42:01] development, but a lot of that would
come um through uh additional planning
[42:04] efforts that haven't happened yet.
>> That's great. And it has been on the
[42:08] long-term plans and we've been planning
for this for a long time. Right now, if
[42:13] I were to take transit to the airport, I
would have to take the red line down and
[42:18] then transfer to the green line and then
get me to the airport. And that's about
[42:21] an hour and a half ride. This is going
to be so good for our residents out here
[42:25] in this way. So, thank you for that. And
I think you're going to find great use,
[42:30] high high volume use on this. And
another suggestion I would make is a
[42:34] couple of those bus stop locations, we
should put a soft serve machine there so
[42:38] that you know they have a sweet time
when they hit West Jordan. [laughter]
[42:44] » Thank you for your work on this.
That's very philanthropic of you to
[42:50] offer that generous donation. We'll put
that out to the public.
[42:55] » I'm sure the first flavor looking at
your outfit today will be some type of a
[43:00] rainbow sherbet of some sort or
>> key lime.
[43:04] » Key lime at a boy. You're very very
good. From our U DOT commission, we have
[43:10] Tom Jacobson. Tom, do you have some
comments for for us today? Yeah, I think
[43:15] obviously u I'm sure that um uh Mayor
Burton will get a lot of benefit out of
[43:22] this and people won't ask him, you know,
how do I get here and how do I get
[43:26] there? One of the things I know that
will probably need to be addressed a
[43:31] little bit in the future is once you get
on to North Temple, you're sharing that
[43:34] with the uh light rail. And uh uh are
your are the stops that you plan going
[43:41] to be set up in such a way that people
could get off the bus if they wanted to
[43:48] and get on the light rail? and um you
know, have you looked at uh um whether
[43:55] or not this is something you need to
take all the way into town or whether or
[43:59] not you want to just have a transfer
point uh with the light rail um once
[44:04] that they're running in parallel.
>> So, right now the commitment with UDOT
[44:09] and the Mountain View corridor is for
the service to go all the way into
[44:12] downtown. Um, in the future there's a
potential that we could re-evaluate
[44:16] that, especially um with other uh light
rail enhancements that are in the the
[44:21] regional transportation plan, but we
will be going downtown. All the existing
[44:25] stops along North Temple do have um
access to to the light light rail
[44:29] stations and at the airport will be
directly adjacent um to the green line.
[44:34] So, it'll be a really smooth uh transfer
there to get on light rail.
[44:39] » Thank you.
>> Thank you. Are there any other
[44:43] questions? Andrew, do you have any
comments?
[44:45] » I I just want to say that I'm excited
about this project. Um, as Ethan noted
[44:51] and as the mayor noted, he's obviously
the mayor's excited, too. Um, uh, this
[44:57] has been in the plans for a long time.
And uh I think we all know that on the
[45:04] west side of Salt Lake County and in our
other counties, but on the west side of
[45:08] Salt Lake County, there's not as good an
access to transit service. Um and
[45:13] there's a lot of businesses and there's
a lot of people that live in that area.
[45:17] And east west travel is a big challenge
in Salt Lake County. Um, and folks that
[45:23] live on the west side and want to come
in to go downtown or go to the airport
[45:26] or whatever or even go point south, they
have to cut across the valley and
[45:31] haven't had a great I mean there are
some east west bus routes, yes, but the
[45:36] ability to sort of head into Salt Lake
from that whole uh west side of the
[45:41] valley has been um it's been a missing
element and this is going to provide for
[45:46] that whole west side that real um
positive connection all the way up and
[45:51] down the west and then into downtown um
as Ethan was noting. So I think it's a
[45:56] critical linkage. That's part of the
reason that you see so many funding
[46:00] sources involved here because all of the
partners have recognized the importance
[46:04] of this from the state funding. Ethan
mentioned CMAC funding. That's those are
[46:08] federal funds that are awarded through
uh WFRC. The state legislature has
[46:13] specifically dedicated uh funding to
this UTA dollars. And so um I'm just
[46:18] excited to see this move forward. I
think it's an important project, very
[46:21] responsible. Thank you. Are there any
other questions for Ethan?
[46:27] Well, hearing none, I'll ask if is there
any other business for this body that
[46:31] needs to come at this time.
[46:36] With that, then I'll just remind all of
you that our next meeting will be
[46:41] Thursday, November the 19th, the week
before Thanksgiving.
[46:47] And uh it'll be held here. We encourage
you to attend in person. Uh and uh with
[46:54] that, I'll entertain a motion to
adjourn.
[46:59] Thank you. Recognized. Thank you,
Council Member Dugan.
[47:03] Thank you, Mr. Souza. We're We'll stand
adjourned. Thank you. Before Before you
[47:08] stop the recording, Andrea, I'll just
add reminder that we have our Wasatch
[47:13] Choice Vision fall workshops that are
coming up in October and November.
[47:20] Looking at Jordan, October and November.
These are the annual community workshops
[47:24] that we do, subregional, 10, eight
around eight around the region to talk
[47:30] about the long range, the regional
transportation plan. You should all have
[47:35] calendar invites to the workshop in your
area. We do those and uh in partnership
[47:42] with UD do and UTA to engage you in your
area in planning for the transportation
[47:48] needs of the future. So that will be
happening prior to our next meeting. So
[47:52] I wanted to mention it.
>> Thank you.
[47:55] » A good time will be had by all. Okay.