UDOT issues decision on Big Cottonwood Canyon Environmental Assessment

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has issued a decision on the Big Cottonwood Canyon Environmental Assessment, which began in 2025. The decision allows the agency to begin final design, right of way acquisition and construction of transportation improvements to alleviate winter traffic on State Route 190. 

According to UDOT, the planned improvements are designed to reduce winter congestion in Big Cottonwood Canyon by increasing transit service, improving bus access and encouraging more visitors to use transit instead of driving personal vehicles in the canyon. 

“We’ve all experienced winter traffic backing up in Big Cottonwood Canyon,” said Cottonwood Canyons Transit Program Manager Devin Weder. “These improvements are designed to give people another reliable option to reach the canyon without sitting in hours of traffic.” 

UDOT is planning several improvements to make transit a better experience for all canyon visitors. As early as the start of the 2028 winter season, travelers visiting Big Cottonwood Canyon can look forward to: 

• Frequent bus service: Buses leaving the new mobility hub every 10 to 15 minutes initially and every seven minutes to each resort by 2050.  

• More parking for bus riders: A new 1,750-stall parking structure and mobility hub near the mouth of the canyon. 

• Better parking access: A new grade-separated intersection on Wasatch Boulevard to access the mobility hub. 

• Improved bus stops: New indoor bus stops at Solitude Mountain Resort and Brighton Resort, along with better safety features, platforms and pedestrian crossings at the existing bus stops located at Cardiff Fork, Spruces, Silver Fork and Silver Lake/Solitude Nordic Center.  

• More efficient bus operation: A dedicated bus-only transit-way at the gravel pit mobility hub and a bus priority lane at the Brighton Loop to help buses move past traffic queues. 

• Better traffic management: A variable-priced toll to reduce congestion and improve bus efficiency by encouraging carpooling and transit use. 

UDOT notes the cost for the proposed improvements is estimated at $264.5 million, though $114 million is already programmed from the Little Cottonwood Canyon improvements for the mobility hub at the gravel pit and Wasatch Boulevard interchange. 

“This is about making canyon travel more predictable and less stressful,” Weder said. “More frequent buses, better access and improved traffic management will help people spend less time waiting in traffic and more time enjoying the mountains.”