Army Corps issues easement permit for depot property; COG members discuss corridor preservation and temporary road options for Mid Valley connection

Tooele City officials told the Council of Governments on Aug. 21 that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a permit allowing limited access to depot property for an easement tied to the Mid Valley Highway project, a development city and county staff called a significant procedural step.

Mary Winn, a Tooele City official who gave the update, said the Army Corps’ permit allows UDOT access to the easement area and that the corps expects to issue final agreement documents within about six months. Winn said the permit "gives them, UDOT, that opportunity to go in and maybe start putting up some fence" and that the Army Corps indicated the final easement agreement could be completed by the end of the year.

Winn described options the city is seeking to preserve mobility even if full Mid Valley construction is delayed: Tooele City has discussed an agreement with UDOT to build a temporary two-lane road within the easement and to install utilities to support future development. She said the city has surveyed property and is working with a local landowner group called Tooele Growth and the Tooele RDA, and that those entities are "very open to trading property or ... letting us use the property for a road without having to buy it." Winn added UDOT and the federal government indicated Tooele City could construct a road on the easement so long as federal rules are followed.

Winn said a clause in draft federal documents that would revert the easement if the road is not completed within five years is a potential problem and could be a "deal killer" unless modified. She said the city and UDOT are still finalizing language and cannot complete a memorandum of understanding until the Army Corps publishes matching contract language.

Several COG members urged using corridor-preservation funds to acquire key parcels or to reserve rights of way before development increases property prices. The county’s transportation staff said the county has a master transportation plan and can program corridor-preservation funds toward priority corridors; staff recommended making corridor preservation a standing agenda item and coordinating purchases on a willing-seller basis if owners are willing to sell. A county staff member noted UDOT has a separate corridor-preservation funding source and asked jurisdictions to provide potential sellers or owners so UDOT can pursue acquisitions with its available funds.

Participants also discussed Grantsville’s Sheep Lane, which the subcommittee presentation described as a nearly $18 million repair and reconstruction request; speakers said full funding of such large projects would exhaust available preservation funds. Several members encouraged multi-jurisdictional letters of support for federal or state grant applications and said jurisdictions may need to hire advocates to move Mid Valley up state funding priority lists.

Tooele City staff said preliminary engineering and minor connection improvements (for example, widening Utah Avenue and adding a dedicated right-turn lane) are already under way to improve access across the rail line and reduce truck traffic on Main Street. City staffers also said some property owners and development entities that would benefit from the corridor connection are cooperative partners for acquisition or temporary use agreements.

No formal action was taken on corridor land purchases at the meeting; members discussed options for phased funding and asked staff to bring corridor-prioritization recommendations and potential willing sellers to future meetings.