After multiple years of planning, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has set a target date for its new transportation plan.
UDOT has been pursuing an expanded bus service and tolling in the Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons for multiple winters, and is now hoping to have them ready in 2028. With its new bus service and tolling system, UDOT hopes to cut down travel times for skiers traveling the infamous “Red Snake” to reach the ski resorts in the Cottonwoods: Snowbird, Alta, Brighton, and Solitude.
New UDOT Buses
For over 25 years, Utah Transportation Authority (UTA) buses have served the Cottonwoods. However, under the new plan, UDOT will run the service, and the UTA will discontinue its Cottonwoods services. The transition will mark the debut of UDOT’s own bus service.
Under the UTA’s current service, buses run every 30 minutes. In 2028, the UDOT buses will run more than twice as often.
“We’re hoping to get that down to every 10 or 15 minutes, and that’s just to start with. In the future, we hope to increase it even more, so that you’re seeing buses maybe up to every five minutes, going to every resort,” UDOT project manager Devin Weder told KUER Radio.
The UTA fleet currently operates 400 buses, and UDOT is planning to add 20 more.
Buses will be owned by UDOT, and new bus stops will be built at the Cottonwood ski resorts. With the current system, buses enter the parking lots of resorts to drop off skiers. There, buses get caught in parking congestion, causing delays and increasing wait times for skiers catching buses outside of the canyons.
“We’re looking to make it so those buses don’t have to go into the parking lots of the ski resorts, because that’s where the buses lose a lot of their time, because they’re stuck behind everyone trying to park,” Weder said.
Bus stops will be built with comfort and safety in mind, encouraging bus use. The stops will be indoors, keeping skiers out of the cold and windy mountain conditions. Stops will also feature lockers and restrooms.
New Tolling System
To further encourage skiers to use the new buses, people who drive through the canyons will have to pay. A toll system will be added in the upper region, just before Solitude, the first ski resort in the canyon.
The transportation commission will set the toll rate, but the number is yet to be announced. The process will likely be automated as well.
“You might have a little transponder in your car that says, ‘Hey, you know, send me the bill at this location.’ Or it could read your license plate and send you the bill, like you see on many toll systems in other states,” Weder said.
New Transit Center
In addition to new buses, UDOT will also build a transit center, or “mobility hub,” at the base of Big Cottonwood Canyon. There, skiers will be able to park and transfer to buses, reducing the number of cars entering the canyon.
Phases Two and Three: Widening Wasatch Boulevard and New Gondola
The new bus service and tolling system are just the first phase of UDOT’s three-phase plan for the Cottonwoods.
With phase two, Wasatch Boulevard will be widened outside the mouths of the canyon. Snow sheds will be built to protect the roads from snow.
Phase three is the new gondola, which is not set to be built until sometime between 2043 and 2050. In May, the Utah Transportation Commission purchased an 8-acre parcel of land at the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon for a gondola. It was purchased from Quail Run Development for nearly $8 million. The proposed gondola would start at the mouth of the canyon, carrying skiers all the way to Alta Lodge. The proposed gondola has received plenty of criticism, with many questioning the price of the lot, as well as UDOT’s priorities regarding canyon traffic. In response, UDOT spokesperson John Gleason talked about how purchasing the land would open future doors.
“We have the opportunity to go in and purchase the property. That can save us time and money and potential issues in the future, because then you don’t have to deal with eminent domain,” Gleason said in a Salt Lake Tribune article.
- Related: Virtual Tour Visualizes “Steel Sky” Impact of Proposed Little Cottonwood Canyon, UT, Gondola
While phases two and three are not set to be completed for multiple decades, the Utah Transportation Commission and UDOT hope to have the bus and tolling system ready for skiers in 2028.
