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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah transit and transportation officials believe ski bus service to the Cottonwood canyons will look similar to what it was this past winter with a few adjustments. However, long-term plans to address canyon transportation will likely be delayed.
Utah Transit Authority plans to offer the same level of bus service in both Big and Little Cottonwood canyons this winter with some surge service available during the busiest periods, UTA director Jay Fox told members of the Utah Legislature's Transportation Interim Committee on Wednesday.
The agency cut its ski bus service in half amid driver shortages two years ago; Salt Lake County and other entities ultimately created an emergency shuttle service called Cottonwood Connect to help fill service gaps. UTA made some adjustments last year, including more coordination with Cottonwood Connect while also providing ski resorts with an employee vanpool service to open up space on the bus.
Those will remain in place this winter, but Fox said UTA is also testing a new contract service pilot program that aims to bring in more drivers and buses to cover Cottonwood canyon routes. The program also brings in drivers to cover bus bridges anytime there's a disruption to light-rail service.
"We currently have a strong position to provide the level of service that we did during the '23-24 ski (season), including surge service that may be needed during certain periods of the day based on demand," added Patrick Preusser, the agency's chief operating officer.
The upcoming winter had the potential to be the last before the Utah Department of Transportation implemented the first-phase plans for the Cottonwood canyons. However, it appears that is no longer the case.
The first phase of UDOT's Little Cottonwood Canyon plan — decided on in 2023 — was initially estimated to start as early as the fall of next year. However, a now-consolidated lawsuit brought together by different entities opposing the plan to eventually build a gondola in the canyon halted it.
The plan, UDOT officials say, aims to remove about 30% of the vehicles that use the canyon. Without any intervention, the agency estimates it could take 80 to 85 minutes to travel through the canyon by 2050.
Some cities and environmental groups argue that the plan violates different laws, including the Wilderness Act of 1964, the Transportation Act of 1966, and the Administrative Procedures Act, and may impact drinking water, wildlife and other angles they say weren't properly studied.
Thirteen of 20 claims in the suit affect the plan's first phase — one that centers on enhanced bus service and tolling in the canyon — so there have only been "limited activities" to the phase so far, said Ben Huot, UDOT's deputy director of planning and investment. These include feasibility and right-of-way studies in parts of the project area.
The agency has also focused on some smaller projects in the near term, such as more cameras and signage to help with avalanche observation and messaging.
UDOT plans to have an administrative record submitted to the U.S. District Court of Utah by next month. Huot said he believes the case will pick up in court around the spring or summer of 2025, so it's nearly impossible for the project phase to begin on time.
"We're not thinking we're moving forward with Phase 1 for at least a couple of years, at this point," he said.
If and when it does commence, most of the needed funding for Phase 1 is now in place. UDOT reports that it has now secured about $190 million of the estimated $240 million cost to implement everything tied to Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon enhancements. The money comes from three legislative funding bills between 2017 and 2023.
A gondola is listed in the final phase of the plan, but the document also doesn't outline when it would be constructed. Construction was estimated to begin around the 2040s in past Wasatch Front Regional Council meetings.
Huot suggested Wednesday that the state may never reach the gondola phase if increased bus service and tolling prove to be successful or funding for the project never comes through.
"If we're able to get Phase 1 done, up and running, and it's working well, and we're making a difference, I think we're going to be quite comfortable staying with Phase 1," he said.
But most of what's the come — and what it could look like — will have to wait until after a court ruling.
