Route 92 project will include commuter lanes

(Deseret News) Here's the deal about living in northern Utah County: The towns are not exactly dotted along the freeway.

If you're a resident of, say, Eagle Mountain or Alpine, you've got a good drive to get to Interstate 15 — anywhere from five or 10 to 15 or more miles.

And as northern Utah County has become more populated, commuting along two-lane highways has become even more difficult. On the west side of the interstate, the Utah Department of Transportation is building Pioneer Crossing, which goes from Redwood Road in Saratoga Springs through Lehi to I-15 in American Fork, to relieve congestion.

And on Wednesday, UDOT and dignitaries kicked off a $139 million project to expand state Route 92. With completion expected in the summer of 2011, it will affect residents in Lehi, Alpine, Highland and Cedar Hills.

"For a lot of old timers, they like the rural-feel feeling" that the hamlets in northern Utah County provided, said Rep. John Dougall, R-American Fork. "But our community is changing."

Between 2000 and 2008, the area gained about 50,000 new residents, said J. Kent Millington, member of the Utah Transportation Commission, which prioritizes projects for UDOT.

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