Eastern Utah Regional Connection aka Book Cliffs Highway

Eastern Utah Regional Connection (aka Book Cliffs Highway) Trisha Hedin Grand County Commissioner Grand County, Utah

Proposal • Seven County Infrastructure Coalition (SCIC) • Completion of Seep Ridge Road via Grand County along the Divide and down East Canyon • 35 miles of highway • Cost projections ranging from 200 -400 million • Believe that funding can come from Biden’s Covid and/or infrastructure packages

SCIC Objectives • Fill the need for a developed transportation corridor from the Uinta Basin to I-70 • Unpaved roads of Hay and East Canyons are insufficient to support the people and products that could be moved through the Book Cliffs • Existing roads are dangerous and/or impassable in the winter • The existing travel corridors through Dinosaur/Rangely and Duchesne/Helper are miles longer than the proposed route • This highway would provide a more direct route for tourism that moves from Yellowstone to Flaming Gorge, Dinosaur National Monument to the Mighty Five in Southern Utah

Detriments to Utah • Taxpayers' dollars (Grand statewide) going to an infrastructure project that is unwanted and irrelevant • Grand County, although being told we will not be saddled with construction or maintenance costs will be spending monies on enforcement, search and rescue and maintenance on county B roads • Loss and fragmentation of critical big and small game habitat, roadkill of big game • Lee and Deb Elmgreen that live at the mouth of East and Hay Canyons will lose a portion of their ranch via imminent domain

Detriments to Dinosaur & Rangely • In building this highway, the Eastern Utah Regional Connection will bypass the existing travel corridors • These travel corridors are vital to the economic diversity of communities on the west side of this proposal such as Duchesne, Helper, Price and Green River and on east side Dinosaur and Rangely • The north side of the Book Cliffs has historically been supported by extractive industries; however, tourism is becoming more prominent and thus can be a key component of the livelihoods of such communities

Stopping the Proposal • Contact your local and regional press for exposure of the issue • Contact the Governor of Colorado – Governor of Utah • Contact your state representatives • Join the Rural Utah Project in opposition • Contact the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition and ask to speak at their next public meeting in opposition - Co. Chairs are Brad Horrocks (Uintah County Commissioner) and Lynn Sitterud (Emery County Commissioner)