From Deseret News archives:

Get the facts straight on Legacy Parkway agreement

By Sheldon L. Killpack and J. Stuart Adams

Published: Sunday, Nov. 6, 2005 7:29 p.m. MST

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"This doesn't help commerce." In what world? If I-15 were to shut down tomorrow in south Davis County, where would you send the commercial truck traffic? The current answer is nowhere. Within the settlement agreement UDOT and UHP have sole discretion to determine what constitutes an emergency and can move truck traffic onto Legacy, a viable alternate route, allowing commerce to continue. Amazingly enough, if we were adding HOV lanes to I-15 in the same corridor it would be hailed as a good thing, yet trucks would not be allowed on the HOV lanes. In fact, you can't even legally pull a trailer behind your SUV in HOV lanes. Let's give a true reflection of exactly how much traffic the truck restriction will impact: As a percent of freeway traffic around 4 percent of all vehicles (trucks with five or more axles or more than 80,000 pounds) will be restricted on this parkway until 2020. By moving 30 percent of the traffic flow from I-15 to Legacy, however, commerce will have much more road capacity.

"A 55 mph road does me no good." When commuting to the capital city in stop-and-go traffic, our speeds range between 0 and 25 mph. We would give blood to go 55 miles per hour.

There is clearly a lot of pent-up frustration over this drawn-out battle. No one understands these emotions more than we do. However, there are some hard realities that cannot be overlooked. The state is already facing a conservative $16.5 billion shortfall in funding road infrastructure through the year 2030. Once this project becomes too expensive, you hand the environmental groups everything they want — no road at all. We have far too many needs throughout the state and we simply don't have the resources to waste. The delays have already cost the taxpayers over $200 million. One of the clear principles or responsibilities we face is being accountable with the taxpayer's money. It is time to move on and get Legacy built. The settlement is good for commerce. It is good for the taxpayer. It is good for Utah.

Sen. Sheldon L. Killpack is from District 21 and Rep. J. Stuart Adams is from District 16.