The Legacy continues? Corridor to extend parkway may run through homes

SYRACUSE — Construction on Legacy Parkway may be complete, but local leaders have long dreamed of a connecting highway from Farmington along the western side of Davis County, north to the Weber County border and beyond.

Dubbed the "West Davis Highway" by planners more than 40 years ago, the highway could eliminate the need for commuters to bog down east-west roads in northern Davis County to get to Interstate 15, which has been, mercifully, flowing well three days in a row since Legacy opened for business.

The name "West Davis Highway" has given way to "North Legacy" since the 1990s, though it hasn't been officially named by the Utah Department of Transportation. In fact, the road hasn't been funded and isn't due to be funded for 15 years, though that could change. Transportation officials don't even know exactly where the road will be placed.

And UDOT has begun calling the road state Route 67 extension. S.R. 67 is the official road designation for Legacy Parkway.

But local leaders have, for the most part, worked successfully with developers to keep homes from being built in the way of North Legacy that would follow the general alignment of Bluff Road through western Layton, Syracuse and West Point, says Davis planning director Barry Burton.

For the most part.

In the path

If you look at a map of Syracuse's general plan, a green dotted line representing a preservation corridor extends the length of Bluff Road and crosses on top of or in front of 31 properties and the eastern edge of Glen Eagle Golf Club.

Residents in the area are convinced they'll eventually be forced to move by a coming highway if they don't move first. And the irony is that many picked the location because nothing was out there.

Joni Walton and her family, who have lived in Syracuse for about a year, learned this past weekend about the corridor that appears to cross into their property.

More irony: Walton learned about the corridor shortly after running a 10K race on Legacy Parkway as part of the parkway's opening day festivities.

Even more: Her family moved from West Valley, where homes of her friends may lose out to the Mountain View Corridor.

Walton's backyard sits right next to the black tee box for the 18th hole and, like her neighbors, she makes regular use of the nearby walking trail.

Fifteen years is a long ways away, and Walton said she understands that sometimes community needs outweigh a few homeowners.

But what if she knew before moving to Syracuse that a highway could come through her yard?

She doesn't know if it would have made a difference.