The alternate plan for the Northern Corridor Highway is still controversial

St. George, Utah – The federal government offered to convert an existing route immediately above downtown as an option when it issued what it claimed was a final rejection of the right-of-way for the proposed Northern Corridor highway above St. George.

When the BLM and Fish and Game first approved a proposed roadway through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area in 2021 to connect Washington City and St. George, that group filed a lawsuit against them. In response to the litigation, a recent study changed its mind and supported converting the Red Hills Parkway into an expressway.

“The Red Hills Parkway Expressway has been chosen by the Bureau of Land Management as their preferred alternative because it satisfies all of the traffic demands of Washington County’s expanding community,” stated Conserve Southwest Utah executive director Holly Snow Canada.

According to Adam Snow, a Washington County Commissioner and supporter of the corridor, this does not indicate that the Northern Corridor concept is doomed.

Depending on who you discuss starting over, it will vary. “Yes, this resets the entire process if you’re an environmental group, like Conserve Southwest Utah, and you just got exactly what you wanted,” Snow said. “If you read their posts, this is over and we won’t be discussing it ever again. I’m glad they’re funny because that’s not the reality.”

From the intersection of Green Springs Drive in Washington City, past Pioneer Park and Dixie Rock, Red Hills Parkway extends to the intersection of State Route 18 in St. George, when it changes its name to Snow Canyon Parkway and enters Ivins.

“It’s actually less expensive to build and performs better than the proposed Northern Corridor Highway,” Snow stated.

A claim that Snow denied. It turns out that federal highways are not constructed by the BLM. The Fish and Wildlife Service doesn’t either. “Obviously, they’re not very good at it,” Snow remarked. “Because the Red Hills Parkway expressway plan they just stated is an absurd and unbuildable road.”

According to Snow, in order to alleviate the current congestion at Red Hills Parkway, another east-west route is required on the opposite side of the hill.

However, Canada thought that just 10% of the design work for such an extension had been completed by county officials.

The Red Hills Conservation area, home to the endangered Mojave Desert Tortoise, is at the center of the conflict. The initial proposal called for creating a new region known as Zone 6 to safeguard the turtle and an endangered plant known as the dwarf bear-poppy in exchange for allocating 154 acres for the Northern Corridor.

Only Zone 6 is where such a plant may be found worldwide.

“Zone 6 cannot exist without the northern corridor,” Snow stated. “That’s how easy it is.”