Utah County mayors lobby for road funds

OREM — When it comes to funding east-west roads through cities on the west side of Utah County, some mayors don't want to depend on the state.

Eagle Mountain Mayor Heather Jackson, Saratoga Springs Mayor Tim Parker and Lehi Mayor Howard Johnson flew to Washington, D.C., to lobby for funds for several roads. Many cities and counties throughout the country lobby their congressmen in March for funding.

Anyone who drives on Lehi Main Street during rush hour can attest that more roads are needed to address the east-west congestion problem through Lehi. And although the Utah Department of Transportation is developing roads to help, those cities' officials don't want to be completely dependent on the state to provide the roads.

Eagle Mountain's main concern for roads is to extend Pony Express Parkway to Redwood Road in Saratoga Springs to provide an alternate route for residents traveling to the city, as well as to Fairfield and Cedar Fort, another option besides state Route 73 and 400 North in Saratoga Springs.

"It (would) alleviate congestion on our city streets," Parker said. "It's sure going to make commuting east and west a lot easier for Eagle Mountain folks."

Smaller cities like Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs don't have numerous businesses that expand the tax base and generate the funds that help build larger roads and therefore, smaller cities need some extra help for those roads. Eagle Mountain employs a lobbyist in Washington to help them receive those funds.

All the mayors said they felt well-received and hope some funding will come through for them.

"Each office, when we went in, said, 'You have a transportation problem, what can we do to help?"' Jackson said.

All three cities sent letters in support of each other and the Mountainland Association of Governments also sent letters of support, she said.

"We presented something they hadn't seen before, and (we're) a region working together to accomplish something," she said.

She added that she believes it's "highly possible" that the city will receive funds for the road.

Lehi asked for funding for roads it needs and although the cities have yet to hear about possible funds, Johnson is sure the meetings did some good.

"We built some bridges that will help somewhere down the line," he said.

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E-mail: csmith@desnews.com