A proposed cooperative agreement to preserve the corridor along U.S. Highway 89/91 in Cache County, drawn up after months of discussion between officials from Cache County, Logan, Nibley, Hyrum and Wellsville cities, didn't exactly get a green light when proposed Tuesday night by Darin Duersch, UDOT Region I traffic engineer .
The U.S.-89/91 corridor is a critical byway for commuters from Bear Lake and it is the only viable alternative to Interstate 15 to Malad, Idaho, in the event of that highway's closure in northern Utah, Duersch said.
The Cache Valley Sustainable Design Assessment Team, involving local governments, business owners, concerned citizens and professional planners from the American Institute of Architects, made recommendations that are the basis of the proposed cooperative agreement, which outlines plans for future traffic lights, intersections and highway access points in southern Cache County.
Duersch said the goal of the cooperative agreement is to plan a future that provides mobility for commuters - from truckers to recreational users - as well as access that will facilitate economic development and improve the quality of life for residents that live along the highway.
Although each of the six governmental entities is being asked to sign the proposed corridor preservation agreement, Hyrum Mayor Lynn Welker said many officials are afraid the document will make development plans in their jurisdictions vulnerable to, “being held hostage by another community.”
“Several communities are here that say no, they won't sign the document,” Welker said.
Cache County Council Chairman H. Craig Petersen said the two most common concerns relate to a lack of specificity about what is required for communities to make modifications to the plan and about the document's proposed 20-year life span.
Offering to revise the agreement, transportation planning engineer Matt Riffkin said the proposal is better than the alternative - to not sign the plan and leave the authority in the hands of UDOT as state law indicates.
“This is a scary agreement. It looks like an insurance policy or a will,” Riffkin said. “This is a master plan that all of the communities have built into.”
Duersch added that failure to plan now will result in a “free-for-all” that will be a burden to all who travel through or live in the vicinity.
“This has not been a perfect document for any one entity, but I think, given our status as neighbors in this valley, it reflects the compromises that we have to make in order to preserve this corridor for future generations,” he said.
UDOT officials said they will revise the ordinance quickly and send it out to each of the participating entities for them to consider signing.
abrunson@sltrib.com
