Have Legacy lessons been learned?

Considering costs of delay and payouts outlined in a rough draft settlement, the Legacy Parkway could be one of the state's costliest legal battles.

If the road is built next spring, costs of construction will be about $680 million, according to the Utah Department of Transportation. Add settlement costs and that number could jump another $5 million or more.

The original cost of the road was about $451 million, according to UDOT.

It begs some questions: How much litigation is too much? Why didn't negotiations occur sooner? Who is at fault for costly delays, the state or environmentalists?

Also, were any lessons learned from the fight over Legacy?

Most involved would agree there was little wavering of opinion when plans to build Legacy gained footing in the mid-1990s. Yes, compromise could have happened — and it was attempted four times — but the opposing groups were "too far apart," according to Carlos Braceras, UDOT deputy director.

"I think we came into this with the direction that we were going to build a road," he said. "I'm a little uncomfortable in saying this, but I think they came into this with the idea that there would be no road. Those two ideals were very, very far apart."

House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake, says "arrogance" on the part of the state cost taxpayer dollars. The timetable for Legacy was rushed and unrealistic from the beginning, he said. The road should have been planned for construction at a later date, considering the environmental impact and opposition.

Becker was a freshman representative when plans for Legacy were first announced by former Gov. Mike Leavitt.

"From my vantage point, the attitude of UDOT, the transportation commission, the governor and Republican leadership in the Legislature was that we're going to do this project, we're going to do it now and we're going to shove it down the throat of the opposition," he said.

"Their desire and ambition I think clouded their judgment. I believed that at the time, and I'm sorry to say that my belief at that time has been proven out."

Others say differently. Rep. Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, says the state should have never negotiated with Legacy opponents. Plans outlined in the current settlement will cost the state more in the future, he said.

An "agreement in principle" signed last month outlines several restrictions for Legacy, if built: a prohibition on truck traffic, speed limits of 55 mph and only two lanes of traffic in each direction.