UDOT Shares Plan To Handle Ski Traffic in Big Cottonwood Canyon
It's no secret that the traffic in Utah's Cottonwood Canyons has been a bit of a pain point for skiers over the last few years. There have been quite a few proposed and implemented solutions, such as reservation parking and a gondola through Little Cottonwood, although none have been perfect.
Now, one proposed solution, the introduction of additional buses and other measures like tolling in Big Cottonwood Canyon, has a timeline.
As of May 13, an environmental assessment of the project had been completed. Metrics such as improved travel times, land use, and water use, and further environmental impacts were evaluated in the study.
Ultimately, the study resulted in a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) decision. The decision allows UDOT to begin final design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction. The project's estimated cost is roughly $264.5 million.
The 2026 POWDER Photo Annual is here! Look for a print copy on a newsstand near you, or click here to have a copy shipped directly to your front door.
UDOT hopes to implement the new bus services in Big Cottonwood Canyon by the fall of 2028. Starting steps include hiring design engineers and architects, ordering buses, and finding a bus operator.
By 2027, UDOT plans to be in the final design and permitting phase of the project for the mobility hub, interchange, and transit-way, new bus stops, and bus priority lanes. Construction is also slated to start in 2027.
"We've all experienced winter traffic backing up in Big Cottonwood Canyon," said Devin Weder, Cottonwood Canyons transit program manager, in a news release. "These improvements are designed to give people another reliable option to reach the canyon without sitting in hours of traffic."
According to UDOT, visitors can eventually expect buses leaving every 10 to 15 minutes initially and every 7 minutes to each resort in the Canyon by 2050.
Additionally, the proposal includes a mobility hub on Wasatch Boulevard, resort bus stops, improvements to existing bus stops at Cardiff Fork, Spruces Campground, Silver Fork, and Silver Lake, as well as a bus priority lane around Brighton Loop Road and a bus-only transit-way at the base of the Canyon.
The project also entails a tolling system. A variable-priced tolling system is set to be implemented in hopes that it will encourage people to use transit or carpool to reduce the overall number of vehicles and traffic congestion in the Canyon and maintain the effective operational capacity of 1,000 vehicles per hour. The toll would start just below Solitude Entry 1 and be applied to upper Big Cottonwood Canyon.
Related: Gorgeous Recaps of "Kimbo Sessions" Show Freestyle Skiing at Its Very Best (Video)
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 4:21 PM.