Utah media needs to ask more questions about why UDOT is widening I-15.
Small Lake City
By Benjamin Wood @BjaminWood
There's a bit of journalistic shorthand my Utah media colleagues use when reporting on the Utah Department of Transportation's expensive plans to widen Interstate 15. In report after report they say that, according to UDOT, adding lanes is necessary to "handle the growth" projected for the Wasatch Front in the coming years.
The exact wording varies: sometimes it's "manage," or "accommodate;" on occasion, UDOT must "respond to" or "address" growth. But the general meaning is the same—more people will live in Utah and, ergo, we must have more road for them to drive on. But where the press falls short is in its failure to ask the necessary follow-up question: What exactly does UDOT mean by "handling" growth?
Earlier this year, the West Davis Corridor opened to much fanfare. Residents in the far-flung areas of Davis County—my brother among them—were thrilled to shave precious minutes off their commutes. And local media was more than happy to report the ostensibly wonderful news of a taxpayer-funded highway being completed, and the "easing" or "improvement" of congestion that it represented.
Then the reporters moved on to the next story of the day. But if you keep paying attention to the West Davis Corridor, you'll notice the story has already started to change. Up and down the new highway, land is being sold off to developers, who are rolling out plans to fill the vacant or sparsely-inhabited areas with scads of housing. One such townhome project in Clinton has been met with a petition from neighbors—again, my brother among them—who object to their city doing what it always intended to do: build new homes for new residents who can use the new road to get to Salt Lake County.
It won't be long—typically five years or so—before those new residents clog up the West Davis Corridor, reverting traffic back to its inevitable state: gridlock. Around that time, we'll likely hear from UDOT about the need to widen the road further, to "handle" more growth, and to unlock new areas of suburban sprawl development.
Because that is what UDOT means by "handle." Growth either occurs within town centers (via density) or on the periphery (via sprawl) and the reality is that while sprawl is unsustainable, it's easier to accomplish politically—all you need is a big enough road.
Density means fewer, shorter trips; sprawl means more driving over longer distances. People see empty fields turning into subdivisions and they see work crews on their once-sleepy arterials and they know there's a connection but they have it backward: the highway makes the sprawl possible; UDOT is the tail that wags the dog.
This is the feedback loop we're trapped in—a barely-scrutinized policy choice with staggering implications for municipal budgets, pollution, health and safety. If you're worried about growth, if you believe neighborhoods are being "ruined," don't fight the townhome project, fight the highway widening.
About The Author
Benjamin Wood
Lifelong Utahn Benjamin Wood has worn the mantle of City Weekly's news editor since 2021. He studied journalism at Utah State University and previously wrote for The Salt Lake Tribune, the Deseret News and Entertainment Weekly
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