Utah
UDOT celebrates early opening of Mountain View Corridor connection to Utah County
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The Mountain View Corridor project connecting Salt Lake and Utah Counties was completed early, opening just in time for holiday travel.
The Utah Department of Transportation celebrated the early completion of the years-long project in a Friday event, with attendees able to walk the new road and take photos with Santa. The road and trails were opened to traffic after the event.
UDOT officials posted a video of the celebration, with the caption reading, in part, “This road and these trails are now yours.”
Commenters praised their work on the project—and the video itself—with some saying they’ve already driven on the new road.
“I almost cried when I went on the corridor today! It was done sooner than I thought so thank you!” one commenter wrote.
Another user called it the “best Christmas gift EVER!”
MORE | Mountain View Corridor:
Some Utahns were less pleased, bringing up concerns about the lights not operating correctly on the north end or complaints about future construction.
However, the video itself addressed the negative comments UDOT receives, specifically complaints about constant construction.
“The truth is, if you want a DOT that never does anything and therefore never inconveniences you…Well, that just ain’t us,” the post read. “We don’t do construction to you, we do it FOR you, because we ARE you. We all live here too.”
The Mountain View Corridor project, also known as the 2100 North Freeway Project, was designed to improve east-to-west traffic flow between I-15 and Redwood Road in Lehi. It also included “shared-use-paths” for pedestrians and cyclists.
UDOT officials said Redwood Road is one of the most congested roads in Utah County, following Interstate 15 and Pioneer Crossing.
Officials expect this could reduce Redwood Road delays by 75% and also help alleviate I-15 traffic in the area.
The project began in Spring 2024, with construction expected to finish in Spring 2026. UDOT officials said the project was completed four months ahead of schedule.
In order to complete the road and trails, crews moved 1.5 million tons of dirt and paved more than 350,000 square yards of concrete and asphalt.
“This new stretch of Mountain View Corridor provides meaningful relief for drivers in fast-growing Utah County,” said Carlos Braceras, UDOT Executive Director. “Opening this stretch ahead of schedule improves regional connectivity and provides drivers with safer, more dependable travel options as the area continues to grow.”
While the new extension is complete, UDOT officials plan to continue to extend the Mountain View Corridor in the future. They said the goal is for it to be a 35-mile freeway connecting Interstate 80 in Salt Lake County to State Route 73 in Utah County.
The next phase of the project is planned to begin in 2027 and will address the stretch from Porter Rockwell Boulevard in Herriman to Old Bingham Highway in West Jordan.
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LIVINGSTON COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) – A Utah man is now facing charges after he allegedly tried to lure a young girl into a wooded area of Livingston County last week.
Ryan Josue Rojas, 20, of Herriman, Utah, was charged over the weekend with accosting a minor for immoral purposes.
According to Michigan State Police, an 8-year-old girl was riding her bike on Rosemary Lane in Brighton Township around 7 p.m. Wednesday when Rojas allegedly approached her. Rojas is accused of trying to get the child to go into the woods for “a surprise.”
When confronted by the child’s father, police say Rojas fled.
After putting out a be on the lookout alert Thursday, Rojas was arrested. He was given a $250,000 cash or surety bond.
The Source: This information is from Michigan State Police.
Utah
Utah Celtic boys wrap up unprecedented run of 4 straight national tournament titles at MLS NEXT Cup – KSL Sports
HERRIMAN — Patrick Stevenson remains uncommitted for his college soccer career, but he may want to consider signing with Real Monarchs after his latest performance at Zions Bank Stadium.
Stevenson notched a brace as Celtic scored five second-half goals in a 5-0 win over St. Louis Developmental Academy in the championship match of the MLS NEXT Cup U19 boys’ academy division on home soil.
So about that Monarchs plan?
“If that ever happened, of course I would. That’s the dream,” said a sheepish Stevenson, who will leave for missionary service for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Argentina this summer.”
A backup plan of Division I college soccer for the former Utah Valley commit isn’t bad, either.
Neither is a national title
“It’s so surreal,” said Brooks Barker, the Georgetown commitment who was named tournament MVP. “Being able to play with these boys year after year is special. We’ve really built a family here, and accomplishing anything your family is amazing. You’ll remember it forever — but national championships were last a lifetime.”
After a scoreless first half, Celtic started to roll. Air Force commit Ben Bradley opened the scoring off the club’s sixth corner kick of the match, and Brooks Barker doubled the advantage moments later.
“That’s up there with one of my favorite goals of my career,” Barker said. “Everyone dreams of scoring a bicycle kick. It wasn’t perfectly clean, but for my last club goal ever — I’m going to remember it for a long time.”
But the green-and-white stripes weren’t done.
Corbin Gardner added a third off the boot of the Salt Lake Community College commit in the 73rd minute, and Stevenson found the back of the net less than six minutes later before finishing off his brace in stoppage time.
“All the boys are amazing,” said Stevenson, who joined Celtic a year ago after playing up a division with LaRoca FC most of his life. “We all play as a family, leave no regrets, and everybody just plays together.
“Right when I came in, they were so welcoming,” he added. “From the very first training, I felt part of the team.”
It’s about more than soccer, too, Barker added.
“It’s less of a team, and more of a family,” he said. “We’re all there for each other in all of our moments: mission calls, celebrating each other, college commitments. We all play as a family, and it’s easier to play with guys who feel like brothers than just teammates.”
He also credited Celtic 07-08 coach Matt Bradley, who led the club the whole way.
“To be able to play with guys that you love with a great coach,” Barker said, “it makes all the difference.”
Utah
A Utah Utes coach was ‘too negative’ with his players. Here’s how he’s changing his approach now.
Gavin Petersen led the Utes to a 19-12 record, just barely missing out on the NCAA Tournament last season.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah women’s basketball coach Gavin Petersen says he’s had to change his approach to coaching since taking over for Lynne Roberts.
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