Let's get Legacy Highway finished

By Gentri Lawrence

November 28, 2005 | Have you ever sat on Interstate 15 near Salt Lake City literally creeping toward your destination? Well, I have, and it took me an hour to drive nine miles from Salt Lake City to Bountiful. By the end of the drive my blood pressure had risen to bursting point and I was white knuckling the wheel and cursing the snail-like pace. I swore that I would never do it again, but with no alternate routes I was destined to get in my car and drive back on I-15.

This madness that they call a normal commute must be changed through the completion of Legacy Highway. Constant litigation against the project has held up construction but if all goes well it could be completed by 2009.

What a joke. Legacy should have been completed by now. Legacy Highway will stretch 14 miles from Salt Lake City to Kaysville, providing an essential alternate route for some of the busiest roads in Utah. The four-lane highway will sit west of I-15 in the only available area for the road. The bottleneck they call Davis County has mountains on the east and the Great Salt Lake on the west. The location of Legacy Highway to the west is really the only option to improve congestion.

In the last 15 years, Utah's population has exploded 72 percent to 2,389,039, and in the last 30 years has grown over 230 percent, according to the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget. The number of vehicles on Utah roads has also increased 330 percent since 1960, showing Utahn's love affair with their vehicles. With growth still on the rise the congestion is only going to get worse, and more traffic isn't exactly what commuters need.

Controversy has shadowed Legacy Highway and provided challenges at every level. The state-funded project was announced by Gov. Mike Leavitt in 1996. Work officially began in January 2001 after all the permits and permissions were granted. A mere 10 months later, work was halted and has been stopped ever since by an injunction granted by the 10th Circuit of Appeals. A coalition of environmentalist groups brought suit against the project and has successfully cost the state $17 million thus far in litigation fees because money is much better spent fighting about something instead of actually making progress.

Right.

The Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, HawkWatch International, Friends of the Great Salt Lake, the Farmington Bay Advocates, and the Future Moves Coalition joined together to fight the project. Roger Borgenicht, chair of the Future Moves Coalition said, "The Legacy Highway will accelerate urban sprawl. It is true that under the current system, sprawl might occur anyway, but the Legacy Highway changes the form of development and the rate that it occurs."

The out of court settlement between the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) and the coalition led by the Sierra Club was completed on Sept. 21. The settlement brought with it stipulations that are much different than any other Utah road. Project Director Byron Parker said, "We have made people mad on every side, that is a sign we are doing our job."

In this situation though, the environmentalists came out pretty happy. Sierra Club spokesman Marc Heileson said, "We're feeling pretty good about this."

A special session of the state Legislature approved the settlement on Nov. 10 with a large majority, 22-5 in the Senate and 50-21 in the House. Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert said, "People in Davis County will jump for joy."

I was pretty excited and I don't even live in Davis. Rep. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said, "The thought of starting construction without litigation this spring and seeing this road completed is excitingly emotional."

Some representatives were skeptical, Rep. Ure, Kamas-R, doesn't think "that this is the end of lawsuits, but the start of lawsuits." Despite all the differing opinions the motion passed and progress can start again.

Finally.

On Nov. 15, Gov. Huntsman signed the approved settlement making it official. Huntsman said, "Legacy Parkway will increase mobility for all citizens of the state and others who travel in northern Utah." Ironically the same day a serious accident near Bountiful forced closure of I-15 for nearly four hours causing huge delays, according to the Deseret Morning News. A testament to just how much Legacy Highway is needed.

The environmentally friendly agreement limited the parkway to four lanes until 2020. The roadway will be covered in a special noise-reducing pavement, according to the Legacy Highway web site, http://www.dot.state.ut.us/index.php/m=c/tid=181. Billboards and truck traffic are banned on the roadway and the speed limit is 55 mph. Reminds me of 1970, isn't that the last time we drove that slow on a freeway? In addition, trails used for bicyclists, pedestrians, and equestrians will be available for public use.

The state will also buy 125 acres of property and establish a 2,100 acre Legacy Nature Preserve to protect Great Salt Lake wetlands and wildlife. I know how important those brine shrimp are. In all seriousness, there are some rare birds in the area that should be protected. Also, the state will provide $2.5 million for a transit study to improve alternatives to vehicular travel.

The agreement comes at a high cost. The new projected price is about $680 million, $200 million more than the original estimate. Beyond the litigation fees, the cost of cement and steel has substantially increased.

The Friends of Legacy group, formed by David Owen, believes that "a handful of environmentalists" are setting Utah's road agenda. I don't know about who set the agenda, but it's about time this project was completed. After four years in limbo it is time to get it done. The extensive growth in Davis County makes a it essential for Legacy Highway to bee completed. But, with the project's track record I expect a lot more challenges to take place before it gets completed, if it ever does.

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