EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Utah -- There are only two ways in and out of Eagle Mountain, and residents are worried one of them could be a traffic mess for years to come.
Eagle Mountain Mayor Chris Pengra will be meeting with Utah Department of Transportation on Wednesday to discuss the impact Pioneer Crossing Extension is having on traffic.
The project connects Pioneer Crossing with State Route 73. It's supposed to reduce traffic congestion, but Pengra has concerns.
"It restricts the traffic flow from what we had before and we were already seeing congestion at that time," Pengra said.
Pengra said for the project to really reduce traffic, it needs to be combined with another project, the Mountain View Corridor, which would carry much of the traffic currently traveling Pioneer Crossing Extension.
"We don't know what the timing is, there isn't any funding for it, it isn't a planned project that's been engineered, so we've got an unknown timeframe and we'll be waiting for that," Pengra said.
The question is how long can residents wait. Evening rush hour along SR-73 is consistently stop-and-go leading to Eagle Mountain. It's a city of 25,000 and growing.
"Well there are just so many people living in Eagle Mountain that we don't have a whole lot of ways to go back into the city, there are only a couple ways to go back," said Nikki Galbraith, a Utah County resident.
"I think it will be worth the wait, I think right now just dealing with the construction and stuff like that it's crazy, but I know it will help when it's done," said Reannon Shephard, another Utah County resident.
According to UDOT, finishing all phases of this transportation project is a major priority. And they will work with all cities involved throughout the process.
"We meet with Eagle Mountain City on a regular basis and we continue to work with them to understand their transportation needs and collaborate with them to develop solutions both for the short term and the long term," said Eileen Barron of UDOT.
