Legacy deal likely to pass

"We welcome votes, wherever they come from, for the Legacy Parkway," he said. "I think we'll be able to come up with 38 votes, and I think it'll move forward."

But it won't be easy.

Rep. Dave Ure, R-Kamas, said far more people oppose the settlement in the House than will openly admit to it. Ure is heading a group called Friends of Legacy, which is against the settlement agreement. By settling, the state is setting a bad precedent, said Ure.

"I don't believe this road will be built one day faster with the compromise or without it," he said. "I think there's a lot more than 13 to 14 people in the House that oppose this. It's not a slam dunk unless those people back out because of pressure."

Friends of Legacy has a Web site at: www.goutahgo.org.

Today, House Republicans will hold a caucus meeting to further discuss their position on the Legacy Parkway. The governor's deputy chief of staff, Mike Mower, also will be busy over the next two days making sure there's enough votes to pass the Legacy deal at Wednesday's special session.

"We're going to make it," Mower predicted Monday.

The governor already is cutting short a trip to Scottsdale, Ariz., for a two-day Western Governors' Association meeting. Huntsman will go to Arizona today but fly back early Wednesday.

To view the Legacy settlement agreement, log on to: www.udot.utah.gov. Under the heading "hot items" is a link titled "Legacy Parkway Settlement Agreement."

The first half of the Republican caucus will be open to the public. The special session will begin Wednesday at 5 p.m.

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Contributing: Lisa Riley Roche

E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com