BOUNTIFUL — The Davis County Council of Governments is poised to begin the purchase of land for future highway needs and ordered appraisals on two parcels.

Those parcels sit in the corridor of a future Legacy North highway, which may eventually run from Farmington along the western part of Davis County to the Weber County border.

When the Legacy Parkway is completed this fall, it is expected to alleviate traffic congestion through the southern part of Davis County by moving motorists west on a more direct route to Interstate 215 in Salt Lake.

But with so many cars coming from the northern part of the county, officials throughout Davis County have begun looking northward for another highway to connect to Legacy.

A corridor has already been identified for Legacy North, and it's estimated to cost about $200 million to purchase all of the land needed for the future road.

That land's expense would increase exponentially if development were to occur there, so preservation funding is aimed at keeping costs down now.

That's why Davis County commissioners imposed a $10 fee on top of regular vehicle registrations in the county in March 2007. Since the county began collecting the fee in July 2007, it has banked about $2 million it can use to purchase land for future roads.

The Davis Council of Governments, consisting of mayors from all 15 cities, three county commissioners and representatives from Hill Air Force Base, Davis School District and the Davis Chamber of Commerce, has identified Legacy North as a priority for the county.

Wednesday, the council voted to order appraisals on two parcels: 7.5 acres in West Point and 5.5 acres in unincorporated county land near western Kaysville.

Once appraisals are complete, the Davis COGcouncil can authorize the purchase of the land using money from the vehicle registrations and then be reimbursed for half of the cost by the state of Utah.

Both parcels have high potential to be developed if the COG were to do nothing is done, said Scott Hess, a Davis County community development planner.

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com