Airport Road Status Update – Progress Stalls After Mayor Fast Tracks Project In 2021

To help reduce traffic in the Cedar Valley, Eagle Mountain back in 2021 started construction on what is to be known as Airport road to connect SR-73 (Cory B Wride memorial Highway) with Pony Express to help with congestion on Eagle Mountain BLVD and Pony Express Parkway. The city currently has spent $233,258 on design, $854,113.39 of impact fees for a light and a small section, and taken out a $20 million dollar bond. Currently Airport road has connected Pony Express to one of the roads in the Overland Subdivision.

In June and July of 2021 Mayor Westmoreland made two statements about fast tracking Airport road and its expected completion timeline. These statements are in the video below.

The cities future transportation plan that is dated January 2023 shows the following for Airport Road. It should be noted that a portion of the road that shows 10-Year new road has already been constructed as well as the 10-Year new signal. The plan also shows that in 2050 the road will be widened as well.

In October 2019 the city contracted with Civil Services to do the design work for the construction of Airport road. The initial agreement was for $59,708. After four change orders that agreement has ballooned to a total of $233,258. I asked the city why this increase happened and here is the response from Tyler Maffitt the Eagle Mountain Communications Manager.

In October 2019, Civil Science was contracted to provide a preliminary design for the expansion of the roadway referred to as Old Airport Road. The original scope of work was to produce an alignment and preliminary drawings that would possibly be shelved until the project became funded. The original scope of work went from Pony Express Parkway to the south end of the Sage Valley subdivision.  

Previously, Change Order #1 was issued to expand the scope to include final design drawings for Phase 1 of this project from Overland to Pony Express Parkway.  

Change Order #2 included additional survey and design work specifically at the intersection of Airport Road and Pony Express Parkway in order to design the traffic light for the future widening of Airport Road.  

Change Order #3 included the final design and bid documents for the second phase of Airport Road which will extend north from Overland to Sage Valley.  

Civil Science had been awarded the design bid for Old Airport Road from Overland to Sage Valley. Civil Science was asked to provide a change order to accommodate changes to the alignment near Sage Valley to move the roadway away from the existing homes, angle into State Route 73 perpendicularly and continue that angle to the north side of SR 73, and to design a wildlife crossing for the wildlife corridor. Approximately 1/3 of the cost for this change order is for structural design work for the wildlife crossing and the rest is for the additional survey, design, and coordination with UDOT.  

A breakdown of the costs is included below:  

Summary of previous change orders:  

• Original Contract: $59,708  
• CO #1:  $30,670 (December 1, 2020) — Revised contract amount: $90,378  
• CO #2:  $10,550 (January 19, 2021) — Revised contract amount: $100,928  
• CO #3:  $40,500 (October 5, 2021)– Revised contract amount: $141,428  
• CO #4:   $91,830– Revised contract amount = $233,258  

The city is still negotiating with four property owners to acquire the needed right of way to complete this project.  

Email communication with Tyler Maffitt – 8/17/2023 12:49 PM

In February of 2022 the city council approved a $20 million dollar bond for road and sewer improvements. Part of that bond according to the City Council notes for the February 15th, 2022 City Council meeting “and two lanes will be added to Old Airport Road from the existing end of the first phase to Wride Memorial Highway. The projects are impact fee-eligible, and the City is working with Mountainland Association of Government (MAG) to secure additional funding.” according to Jerome the City Manager. When asked, about this bond Maffitt responded, “This project is funded through the Mountainland Associated of Governments. This funding is for FY2025, although Eagle Mountain City may choose to use a portion of the bond to complete the project sooner and get reimbursed by MAG.”

That then raises the question, if this bonds projects ultimately are going to be funded by MAG, then once MAG pays for the projects, where is the bond funding really going to be applied? Why has the city not used the funding from the Bond to speed up the building process?

The is still the question of land ownership. Part of the land that Airport road is supposed to be using is still owned by private land owners. Below is a map of what is currently owned by the City and what is owned by residents.

How is the city working with the land owners to purchase this land? The land owners must see the benefits to it. By the city putting in Airport road along the edge of their existing properties, it will give them the needed road way into any future developments, as well as remove the burden of construction from them to the city. They land owners will also receive money for their land as well. Sounds like a win/win for both the city and the land owners. Maybe the city should put a little muscle into its negotiations and stop laying nice with the developers.

Here is a quote from an article we published back in 2021 from Mayor Westmoreland, he gave October 2022 as the timeline for completion. I think we have missed that timeline.

Mayor Tom Westmoreland had this to say about Airport Road (2021).

“Though a short stretch of Airport Road, extending west from Pony Express Parkway will be completed this year, the remainder will be completed by end of October 2022. Once opened, Airport Road will provide another connection between Pony Express Parkway and SR-73. This will help take some traffic off of Eagle Mountain Boulevard and Pony Express Parkway. It will also create an opportunity for neighborhood developments in the area to connect as an alternate route.”