 |
|
|
Future of Murdock Connector up in the air March 15, 2017, 3:20 pmHighland Mayor Mark Thompson said getting an east/west road through the city has been an issue since the city incorporated more than 40 years ago. With a preferred route from 5300 West to North County Blvd., the proposed road, which would be less than a mile long, would need to cross the USDC's property which is state-owned. As such, to begin the process UDOT needs the approval of the legislature. UDOT would also need to obtain right of way from the adjacent Pheasant Hollow Homeowners Association. The road is known as the Murdock Connector because it follows some of the route of the former Murdock Canal which was piped several years ago. Rep. Mike Kennedy, R-Alpine, is working to get legislation through that would grant the approval but, as of press time, he has not been able to yet get bill status for his proposals. With an end date of March 9 for this year's legislative session, he is running out of time. Work to add the item to a resolution being proposed by Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-District 15, to approve development of a portion of USDC property under a lease agreement also appears stalled. Currently, the USDC is looking to develop nearly 8 acres of the property it owns for retail, office space and apartments. "We'd just like to have the road be a part of that process," Thompson said. "If not, we're hoping at the very minimum to at least get a road built over the canal." Funding for the road has already been approved by the Mountainland Association of Governments. The project was previously approved in 2014 by the legislature and the developmental center's governing board but a new board sent it back to the drawing board last summer. The new board requested that UDOT complete a new traffic study on the area (the last was done more than eight years ago) which is currently underway but results are not expected back until Feb. 24. American Folk City Councilmember Rob Shelton has started a petition on change.org which had 480 signatures at press time calling on the legislature and the developmental center's governing board to allow the road to be developed. "I'm worried about connectivity," he said. "Currently the only east/west connector in that area is along the Timpanogos Highway." Thompson said if USDC for the right of way doesn't happen that the city may at least attempt to get the road built through Pheasant Hollow. The community news source for Eagle Mountain Utah, Saratoga Springs Utah, Lehi Utah, American Fork Utah, Highland Utah, Alpine Utah, and The Cedar Valley, including Cedar Fort Utah and Fairfield Utah. Copyright 2024 The Crossroads Journal LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
