Construction crews on Tuesday began the process to remove a well-known roundabout at Pony Express Parkway and Eagle Mountain Boulevard. It will be replaced with a traditional signalized intersection.

Eagle Mountain’s Communications Manager Tyler Maffitt explained the traffic layout will just essentially open up the intersection with dedicated turn lanes in all directions along with two left turn lanes in the northbound and southbound directions; two through lanes will be added as well.

Eagle Mountain leaders say as the city begins to approach a population of 75,000 people, the traditional lanes should help alleviate congestion during peak traffic hours, something they add residents and commuters have supposedly raised concerns about as the city’s growth persists.

“The signals also have dedicated lanes for turning and through traffic so stacked traffic will be released at once rather than one at a time resulting in better overall traffic flow,” Maffitt said in an email. “The signals also eliminate the heavy directional traffic flow at peak hours, which is where roundabouts fail and cause significant backups in one or multiple directions.”

Eagle Mountain Assistant City Engineer David Salazar said the roundabout frequently created backups, especially in the mornings and evenings when school and work traffic is at its peak.

“Motorists will notice substantial improvements in traffic flow without long wait times in one particular direction,” Salazar said.

City officials also believe the new design will aid in pedestrian safety as well.

For now, Eagle Mountain will foot the $3 million bill to construct the project but plans to seek reimbursement in the coming years once funding from a recently awarded grant from the Mountainland Association of Governments becomes available in 2028, city officials said in the release.

Crews started work on Tuesday to demolish the roundabout and will be progressing through multiple phases of construction.

On Thursday, the American flag and state of Utah flag that had been prominently located at the roundabout site were being removed.

The city initially said they planned to relocate the flags and flagpoles to the rodeo grounds, but now residents are being invited to weigh in on where they should go.

“Our residents care deeply about these symbols, and we want to ensure their future placement reflects community values,” Maffitt said. “We’re opening it up to resident feedback.”

A poll on Eagle Mountain’s official Facebook page is active through Monday to gather public input on an appropriate location where the flags should be relocated.

City officials say the project is expected to be completed by late July ahead of the upcoming school year, weather permitting. Construction hours will run Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Construction will maintain one lane in each direction through the intersection; however, there will be periods when only one lane is available due to construction activities.

Maffitt said drivers are encouraged to utilize Pole Canyon via state Route 73 and to exercise patience as delays will likely be inevitable.

“Drive slowly through the construction traffic and plan more time for your trips. We appreciate your understanding while we work to improve the traffic flow for the City,” he added.