Who pays for American Fork's Pony Express Parkway link and nearby roads

American Fork and Lehi have agreed to share the local cost of extending Pony Express Parkway into American Fork. Utah County transportation money covers most of the cost. A connecting trail and a developer-built stretch of 620 South are funded under separate agreements. ^[1][4][7][8]

American Fork's City Council approved the interlocal agreement with Lehi on Aug. 12, 2025. Lehi's council approved it unanimously on Aug. 26. The road described in the agreement runs from Lehi's Center Street to about 840 South and 700 West in American Fork. ^[1][2][3]

The shared match

The agreement plans a 105-foot corridor wide enough for five lanes, with one travel lane in each direction built at first, plus widening at intersections. ^[1]

It lists $12,683,700 in project funding and a 6.77% local match of about $858,687, half from each city, about $429,344 apiece. Land and easement dedications, pavement and some project development costs after Sept. 1, 2022 can count toward the match. ^[1]

Each city pays for overruns and city-requested improvements within its own boundary. Lehi handles invoices and reimbursement requests, and American Fork acquires right-of-way on its side. ^[1]

The county share

Utah County's agreement with Lehi, in Lehi's June 10, 2025 packet, sets the total project cost at no more than $12,683,700 and caps county reimbursement at $11,825,013.51, the total less the matching funds. Its schedule lists $932,300 in 2025 and $10,892,713.51 in 2027. Lehi's Aug. 26 minutes say the city approved an agreement with Utah County for the design and construction. ^[4][2]

Design and later phases

Lehi's May 26, 2026 packet includes a $1,920,305 design proposal from Wilson & Company for the parkway from Lehi's 300 West to American Fork's 700 West, 700 West from 800 South to 620 South, and about two miles of trail from Northlake Park to Lakeshore Drive and 700 West. Final design deliverables are scheduled for December 2027. ^[5]

At American Fork's February 2026 budget workshop, the minutes describe a second parkway phase from 700 West toward 500 East and 1500 South, with $17.97 million in anticipated Mountainland Association of Governments funding and a 2030 or 2031 timeline. They also describe a separate request, estimated at $5.05 million, for a 700 West connection to 200 South. ^[6]

The trail

Utah County commissioners voted 3-0 on March 25, 2026 to approve an interlocal agreement for the Spring Creek segment of the Utah Lakeshore Trail, which the minutes tie to the Pony Express project. Public Works Director Richard Nielson described $1.1 million in earlier funding from the Mountainland Association of Governments against a current $2.8 million estimate, with $1.7 million more to come from fourth-quarter transportation funding. ^[7]

The 620 South agreement

On Nov. 12, 2024, American Fork's council unanimously approved a pioneering agreement with White Horse Developers for improvements along 620 South as part of AF Crossings Plat A. Council member Ryan Hunter was excused. ^[9]

Under the agreement, the developer pays for required improvements, and the city collects proportional payments as benefited properties develop, then forwards them to the developer, normally within 60 days. There is no interest, and the city does not guarantee collection. The cost allocation exhibit lists $37,345.95 in pioneering charges. Development applications made more than 10 years after the subdivision's April 16, 2019 approval do not trigger the payment. ^[8]