Weber County has become the sixth county in the state to increase vehicle registration fees by $10, following a unanimous vote by the Weber County Board of Commissioners.

The fee increase, which is expected to bring in $1.5 million during the first year, is dedicated to purchasing land for future roads, a concept known as corridor preservation. The commission approved the increase Tuesday.

"We're in need of a lot of road improvements and construction, and it's just not happening fast," said Commissioner Jan Zogmaister.

Weber County joins Salt Lake, Utah, Summit, Wasatch and Davis counties in approving the increase. Those counties will be able to take advantage of $30 million in matching funds from the state for corridor preservation for state roads.

One of the highest priorities in Weber County is an extension of the Legacy Parkway, known as Legacy North, which will eventually run from Farmington along the west side of Davis and Weber counties.

Unfortunately, along the proposed corridor, homes have been built in the future highway's path, Zogmaister said, adding that it's more expensive to buy homes than fields.

The registration increase, which becomes effective in July, will barely make a dent in corridor preservation in Weber County, she said. Estimates peg total corridor preservation in Weber County at $172 million in today's dollars.

"Naturally, none of us wants to increase taxes," said Dave Hardman, president and chief executive officer of the Ogden/Weber Chamber of Commerce, who urged the Weber Area Council of Governments and Weber commissioners to approve the fee increase.

He'd rather have a small increase today than a huge one in the future.

"We've had incredible population growth in the past 10 years," said Ron Kusina, executive director of the Weber Economic Development Corporation. "Our community has tons of room to grow in the west."

Cities such as West Haven and Plain City have plenty of space, as well as West Weber and Warren, Hardman said, adding that it's also important to make sure people can travel east to west to get to a future north-south highway.

Other corridor projects in western Weber County include improvements for Hinckley Drive (about 31st Street) near West Haven and 12th Street west of Marriott-Slaterville. Plain City's 2700 North also needs to be extended west, Hardman said.

Kusina said transportation capabilities are vital to maintaining a solid economy into the future, and preserving corridors is the first step.

"I think it's something we really have to do," he said.

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com