UDOT launches NEPA environmental assessment for proposed I‑15 Spanish Fork interchange

SPANISH FORK, Utah — The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has started an environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for a proposed new interchange on Interstate 15 in the Spanish Fork area, UDOT project manager Darren Bunker told Utah County commissioners on July 12.

“In the middle of our comment period,” Bunker said, and he noted the current formal comment period closes July 27. He described the effort as the scoping phase of an EA that will develop alternatives, screening criteria and a preferred alternative before publication of the EA and another 30‑day comment period.

UDOT provided a study area map and said the review will extend a short distance east of Main Street and roughly a quarter mile to the west. Bunker said the study will build on a 2012 scoping study that recommended a Center Street interchange but will also “go above and beyond” that earlier work to test additional solutions. He said the project has been identified in the regional transportation plan and that design and construction phases have not yet been funded.

As an illustration of the traffic problem the study seeks to address, UDOT’s presentation showed AM peak travel times from Volunteer Drive to I‑15 on northbound Main Street rising substantially under a no‑build scenario: the slide indicated an increase from roughly 7.3 minutes in current conditions to about 26.3 minutes in longer‑range modeling. Bunker emphasized that alternatives will be evaluated against both purpose‑and‑need criteria (for example, access and congestion) and federal regulatory screening requirements.

UDOT said it has been conducting community engagement — a public meeting about a week and a half before the July 12 session drew roughly 50–60 attendees — and has formed a roughly 20‑person stakeholder working group representing farmland owners, business owners and minority communities. The agency provided a project webpage and a QR code during the presentation and invited ongoing public input.

Next steps outlined by UDOT include completing the scoping period, identifying purpose and need and screening alternatives, publishing the EA with a 30‑day comment window and issuing a formal decision, which the presenter said is anticipated around October 2024. The agency cautioned that design and construction phases are not yet funded and that a timeline for building is therefore not established.

The presentation and the formal comment period information were provided to commissioners and attendees by UDOT staff and will be included in the public record for the EA.