Generations of Washington County officials have led the charge to cut a highway through the iconic, fragile, protected Red Cliffs. The current generation has again declared it essential, with no viable alternatives. Yes, traffic has grown over the past 10 to 15 years, but the highway is illegal, there are viable alternatives and constituents’ concerns about sprawl and permanently spoiling these lands for future generations are valid.
As an expert in engineering alternatives analyses, I’ve suggested that the issue could be addressed by systematically engaging stakeholders, but the long history reveals a pattern of avoidance by elected officials, seemingly rooted in stubborn political entrenchment rather than long-term public interest.
Washington County officials first agreed to protect the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve in 1995, disallowing new highways. In 2009, it was doubly protected in federal law (see section 1974) as a National Conservation Area (NCA), again disallowing new highways. The law also directed federal agencies to help identify “northern transportation alternatives in the county.” (see section 1977). Those agencies went a step farther than that directive in 2012, approving the upgrade of an existing rough, narrow road through the NCA to create Red Hills Parkway, which officials declared the Northern Corridor Highway. However, in 2016, they demanded yet another northern corridor highway, falsely claiming the law promised it. This claim belies the county’s on-going attempts to change the law to grant an exception, which has been repeatedly denied.
This proposed four-lane highway would pass through the middle of the quiet, scenic neighborhood of Green Springs and follow a long, twisting route through one of the most sensitive parts of the NCA, only to re-connect with Red Hills Parkway. It coincidentally touches several private in-holdings, providing access for development. Development would be complicated, but these lands are very valuable.
In 2018, the county forced federal reconsideration of this highway. Unsurprisingly, it was approved on the last day of the first Trump administration in 2020. Also unsurprisingly, the approval was reversed in 2024 following a lawsuit led by local citizens, reiterating its illegality, recommending instead that Red Hills Parkway be improved to connect more directly with I-15. A complicated design for this connection was developed, but officials now claim those complications make it too difficult and expensive.
Fine. Let’s understand why and investigate alternatives.
Instead of choosing to engage in normal problem solving, the county has again jumped to the conclusion that their way is the only way, and requested a reversal of the reversal. Another approval by the current Trump administration is anticipated, teeing-up another constituent lawsuit, and re-re-reversal. This fits the colloquial definition of insanity.
As if this isn’t complicated enough, county officials added another complexity to their proposals: In exchange for ignoring the highway’s illegality and the damage it would cause, they promise to partially, temporarily protect Greater Moe’s Valley, a separate popular hiking-biking-climbing area, roughly equal in size to the land that would be directly and indirectly damaged by the highway. Their past promises to protect Red Cliffs demonstrate the value of this promise. Yes, Moe’s Valley should be protected, but it’s a cynical, illusionary trade for this highway.
The county has spent millions on analyses for the highway, while denying open scrutiny. Traffic modeling suggests that there are negligible differences in travel time between alternatives inside and outside the NCA. And none of the solutions improve traffic at many key intersections. This new highway is a terrible idea with many technical issues the county refuses to address. Targeted improvements to specific intersections and existing arterials would be better and cheaper. There are always alternatives.
The process is the problem.
Our elected officials’ unwillingness to discuss viable options has created a public policy vacuum, where major infrastructure decisions that cause irreversible damage are made without meaningful engagement, rigorous technical debate or consideration of evolving data and best practices.
Public opposition is framed as obstructionism rather than a legitimate call for due diligence. Constituents are treated as enemies rather than partners. We battle over traffic solutions, but fail to engage on the growth policies that cause them. Washington County’s natural environment is the foundation of its economic vitality, yet our elected officials are compromising their stewardship, responsibility and their legacy. We shouldn’t be asking the federal government to solve these challenges. We need local leadership.
The proposal: Establish a series of working sessions involving all stakeholders, moderated neutrally, to clearly define the problem, solution requirements, alternatives and evaluation processes. See where the chips fall. It would be a failure of leadership to not take this step.
Washington County citizens deserve a real discussion rooted in facts and values, and lasting solutions that support future generations, not in political inertia.
(Tom Butine) Tom Butine is an aerospace systems engineer, scientist and program manager.
Tom Butine is an aerospace systems engineer, scientist and program manager who has organized and led many complex technical alternatives analyses. He is a longtime resident of Washington County involved in protecting its posterity.
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