Earlier this week, the Utah Department of Transportation sent out a press release noting that utility work on the 2.5 mile extension of SR-177 — the West Davis Highway — between the current end of the highway at SR-193 in Syracuse to 1800 North in West Point is getting underway.

UDOT Senior Communication Manager Mitch Shaw told the Standard-Examiner in an email Wednesday will include a few other enhancements in addition to the extension of SR-177.

“It’s a 2.5-mile extension of SR-177 (West Davis Highway) from SR-193 to 1800 North in West Point,” he said. “The project will extend the four-lane highway with a new interchange at SR-193, bridges over 300 North, 800 North and 1300 North, and an intersection at 1800 North. The project will also extend the Emigrant Trail from 1300 North to connect to the existing trail on 5500 West in Weber County.”

He said he was unsure of an exact date, but utility work will begin at some point during the month of December.

Photo supplied, Dennis Montgomery

“The work people will see happening this winter is basically prep work that will pave the way for full construction to start in spring of 2026,” he said. “Crews from Hooper Water Improvement District, Davis & Weber Counties Canal Company, Hooper Irrigation Company, and Rocky Mountain Power will be moving infrastructure out of the new highway’s path.”

The full project is scheduled to finish in late-2028.

As crews get ready for the next phase of the West Davis Highway, the first completed section — 16 miles connecting SR-193 to I-15 in Farmington — is just a month away from celebrating two years open to the public.

Shaw said that the opening of the first phase of the West Davis Highway has made a large difference.

“Depending on the section of the road, SR-177 had an Annual Average Daily Traffic of as much as 24,000 in 2024,” he said. AADT is the total of all vehicles counted in a year divided by 365 days. Generally we are seeing less traffic on I-15 in the Davis County area and less traffic on east-west routes, west of the freeway. This is because people aren’t having to travel east to access a major north-south road.”

Ultimately, the plans are to extend the highway through Weber County where it will once again meet up with I-15.

Shaw said the state is starting to dip its toes in the water on the next big leap, but it’ll be some time before any construction can begin.

“We are currently conducting a State Environmental Study to evaluate the extension of SR-177 from 1800 North in West Point to about 4000 South in West Haven,” he said. “The study is expected to last through late 2026. This extension is not funded and we do not currently have a construction timeline.”

He said, at this time, there isn’t a defined route for a West Weber Corridor.

“The state does have a Corridor Preservation Program, where we buy properties to preserve future transportation corridors by acquiring rights of way that meet certain eligibility requirements,” he said. “We have been buying up properties in western Weber and Davis counties when appropriate for years, in anticipation of future construction. But again, no routes have been solidified or defined for future phases.”

Shaw said in Utah’s Unified Transportation Plan, currently, any further of extension of SR.177 into Weber County is in Phase 3 (2043-2050).

In the meantime, for more information and updates on the West Weber Highway extension to West Point, visit https://westdavis.udot.utah.gov.