By Jesse Rindlesbach – After a long year and a half process of meeting and proposals a right-of-way agreement has been reached between the Thanksgiving Point golf course and Utah County. The agreement is for the construction of a new 1.5 mile bike path in Lehi that will connect the Jordan River Parkway and the newly completed Murdock Canal trail, “the crown jewel of Utah county,” says Jim Price with Mountainland Association of Governments. According to Mr. Price the biggest hold up came from the homeowners association of the neighborhood next to the 10th hole of the golf course. The HOA was concerned about the privacy and safety of the homeowners. All issues have now been resolved. The design process for the trail is underway and will be completed this fall, with construction set to start in the spring.
The two million dollar project will take approximately three to four months to complete. Mr. Price indicated that funding for this project is coming from CMAQ and STIP. This trail will ultimately connect the Jordan River Parkway to the Provo River Trail and will complete Utah County’s section of the Wasatch Loop.
With this project underway, Mr. Price and MAG’s next venture will be the extension of the Draper trail on the east side of I-15 through the Point of the Mountain. This trail will make it possible for bikers to travel into Utah County on the east side of the freeway with out having to use the dangerous frontage road.
