A new paved trail will be built in Vineyard after the Utah Department of Transportation issued its first round of funding for the statewide Utah Trails Network.

The trail will be 2.1 miles, running from Interstate 15 to the Utah Lakeshore Trail along Vineyard Connector and parallel to the incoming Utah City development.

On Friday, UDOT announced funding for 13 different trail projects throughout the state and five feasibility studies for additional trails. In total, $95 million is being invested, with $5 million of that going toward the Vineyard trail project.

The funding comes from legislation that was passed last year to provide continuous funding to create a statewide trail system and improve access to active transportation for Utahns.

“This was kind of a historic moment for Utah,” said Stephanie Tomlin, UDOT Trails Division director. “By embarking on this journey to build out a statewide trail network, this really can be thought of akin to starting out on building out a highway network.”

Tomlin said they examined about 160 projects, whittling them down to the handful that received funding this round.

For the Vineyard project, Tomlin said previous planning from the city and the proximity to Utah City both played a factor in selecting the project.

She said providing residents with connections to assets and amenities in the community was one of the components in narrowing down projects.

“One of the biggest considerations for our program in general is how are we providing connections to people, to the community, to the assets and the amenities within their communities to make that easier for them to access? And so a trail that connects to an upcoming downtown, obviously, is doing exactly that,” she said.

Tomlin said there isn’t a set timeline for construction for the projects quite yet, but she hopes they can start as soon as the 2025 construction season.

Tomlin added that this was a “new space” for UDOT since this is the first time the department will be constructing stand-alone trail projects.

This year’s allocations also include projects in Salt Lake, Davis, Kane, Uintah, Wasatch, Rich and Grand counties, according to a press release from UDOT.

Funds also were appropriated to five feasibility studies for potential projects, the release states, including a Deer Creek Reservoir Trail that would connect to the Provo River Parkway Trail.

Because the department will get yearly, ongoing funding for paved trail projects, Tomlin said the first round of appropriations is just the beginning.

In Utah County, she said they have identified areas around Utah Lake to consider funding in the future but added that nothing is guaranteed at this point.

“Generally speaking, we heard a lot of desire for the Utah Lake Shore Trail, which I think makes a lot of sense that, you know, it goes around the lake and connects to a lot of different communities,” she said.

Tomlin said there also were a couple of trail projects in south Utah County, such as the Highline Trail in Santaquin and a trail on 400 East in Springville.

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