Will the Legacy Highway: Contribute to Utah's business environment?

• Position: Up Front - Brief Article

Yes

Byron Parker

Legacy Parkway Project Director

The Legacy Parkway Project is largely intended to benefit commuters making their way between Salt Lake City and points north. This 14-mile stretch of freeway, with new interchanges at Parrish Lane in Centerville and 500 South in Bountiful, is desperately needed as an alternative roadway in the south part of Davis County. There are a number of ways in which Utah's business community will be enhanced by the Project.

First, when Legacy is allowed to resume construction, it will benefit Utah economically by providing hundreds of jobs through the Project's contractor and sub-contractors. The three-year construction process will also result in the recycling of millions of tax dollars back into the local economy through payments to contractors and sub-contractors and paychecks to their employees.

Second, when the Legacy Parkway is complete, it will allow a freer flow of traffic in both directions through south Davis County. Currently, there is no viable alternative to I-15 from North Salt Lake to Farmington, which makes that stretch of I-15 among the most congested in the state, especially during the morning and afternoon drive times. By taking some of the pressure off of I-15 in that area, we will encourage commerce between Salt Lake City and communities in Davis and Weber counties as we make north-south transportation safer and more convenient.

And third, the Legacy Parkway Project is part of a shared transportation solution for Davis County. With its completion, it will be more practical and convenient to begin work on other transportation options for the area, including mass transit and widening the I-15 corridor. This "shared solution" will have a long-term impact on Utah's business environment, especially for Davis and Weber counties, and will be a legacy for Utah.

No

Marc Heileson

Sierra Club Associate Regional Representative

The Legacy Highway and the automobile-dependent development that follows these types of transportation projects are harmful to the business economy. This has become more prevalent recently, as industrial groups get more involved in transportation planning. Industry has determined that when new roads are built that result in auto-dependency and sprawl, air pollution in the region dramatically increases. Industry understands that the ability to expand, or to...