Courtesy Eagle Mountain

The Eagle Mountain City Council decided Tuesday to table a discussion on the city’s updated Transportation Master Plan.

Transportation master plans evaluate the needs of a city based on growth, development and traffic while recommending future transportation infrastructure to meet those needs.

Eagle Mountain requires updates to its Transportation Master Plan to account for the rapid population growth it has experienced. According to the United States Census, the city’s population has more than doubled in size from 21,415 residents in 2010 to an estimated 49,738 residents in 2021.

The exponential growth won’t stop there. According to projections from the Mountainland Association of Governments, Eagle Mountain’s population could grow to 152,500 by 2060, which would necessitate additional infrastructure adjustments.

Eagle Mountain has retained Horrocks Engineers to facilitate updates to the Transportation Master Plan. According to Kevin Croshaw, a transportation engineer at Horrocks Engineers, Eagle Mountain’s current road system, particularly the main roads in and out of the city, will not be able to accommodate its projected growth and commercial development without intervention.

James Roh, Daily Herald file photo

“There’s definitely some improvements needed, some planning needed,” he said.

The tabled version of the Transportation Master Plan outlines 10-year roadway improvements, as well as 2050 roadway improvements.

“There is a lot of development that is planned in Eagle Mountain,” Croshaw said. “There’s a lot of new roads to meet those demands.”

According to the current proposed plan, the first phase of road improvements would include six projects to be completed by 2030.

• Airport Road (Cory B Wride Highway to East Expressway) – New five-lane road
• Cory Wride Freeway (Mountain View Corridor to Ranches Parkway) – New freeway, frontage roads
• Cory Wride Highway (Ranches Parkway to Airport Rd) – Widen to five lanes
• East Expressway (Eagle Mountain Boulevard to Eagle Mountain Boulevard) – New three-lane road
• Mid Valley Road (Eagle Mountain Boulevard to East Expressway) – New three-lane road
• Pony Express Parkway (Sandpiper Road to Eagle Mountain Boulevard) – Widen to five lanes

The second phase of road improvements would include four projects to be completed between 2031 and 2040.

• Cory Wride Freeway (Ranches Parkway to East Expressway) -New freeway
• Eagle Mountain Boulevard (SR-73 to East Expressway) – Widen to five lanes
• East Expressway (Cedar Valley Freeway to Eagle Mountain Boulevard) – Widen to five lanes
• Mt. Saratoga Blvd (Cory Wride Freeway to Harvest Hills Boulevard) – New three-lane road

Finally, the third phase of road improvements would include six projects to be completed between 2040 to 2050.

• Aviator Ave (Eagle Mountain BLVD to Cedar Fort RD) – New 3-lane road
• Cedar Valley FWY (East Expressway to UC 4000 N) – New Freeway
• Central Valley Rd (UC 2400 N to Mid Valley Rd) – New 3-lane road
• Hidden Valley Rd (East Expressway to Redwood Rd) – New 5-lane road
• Mid Valley Rd (Eagle Mountain Blvd to Cedar Fort Rd) – New 3-lane road
• UC 8000 N (Cedar Fort Rd to UC 17200 W) – New 3-lane road

With the tabled version of the Transportation Master Plan, the total cost estimate for Eagle Mountain to improve its transportation system would be $1,224,176,000 — by 2050 — with the city being financially responsible for $557,965,000.

Although the Transportation Master Plan is a likely outline for the way transit will evolve in Eagle Mountain once approved, the city is not fiscally required to complete the projects included in the final plan.

“The benefit of completing a TMP is to demonstrate to organizations such as UDOT and MAG that improvements are necessary and eligible to receive financial assistance on projects in the future,” reads the Master Transit Plan. “As projected growth is an estimated value, Eagle Mountain is not bound to complete projects included in this TMP if there is no need in the future.”

Prior to the updated Transportation Master Plan’s approval, the plan underwent a public comment period that ran from July 14, 2021, to Aug. 13, 2021, and a public open house on the plan was held on July 14.