Another link for Legacy

The Utah Department of Transportation has planned an $8 million study to find out if pushing the Legacy Parkway further north is workable.

The expensive study is a good idea — considering the brouhaha that resulted over environmental concerns last time. UDOT, lesson learned, is trying to get it right this time.

The proposed West Davis Corridor Study would take five years to complete and would anticipate traffic patterns up through 2040.

There are still questions, of course. A big one is, has the parkway we already have lived up to promises and expectations?

We believe it has.

Though many commuters on I-15 look west and see only a smattering of cars, the truth is the parkway has siphoned off enough traffic to make the drive-time commute more manageable. It also has allowed preparedness experts to breathe more easily. Before Legacy, any tin-horn troublemaker could have rolled a truck on I-15 and hamstrung the whole Salt Lake Valley. Emergency vehicles would have been sidelined. People would have been land-locked where they stood. It was a nightmare waiting to happen.

With Legacy, however, the extra passageway works as a needed escape valve.

And though scuttlebutt years ago said that driving 55 mph and banning 18-wheelers from Legacy hardly made the parkway worthwhile, those who take Legacy find they can get where they're going on Legacy as quickly as on I-15. And the more relaxed atmosphere has made for a less stressful drive, giving motorists time to look around and remember when driving wasn't a dreaded chore but a nice way to spend part of the day.

We applaud UDOT for looking ahead. The parkway has earned the right to be extended farther north. Many in Layton and other towns are upset because the proposed roadway may not reach them. But in time, they'll have a turn.

It's true that when the words "Legacy Parkway" are uttered, many Utahns still flash on the court fights and the extra $200 million price tag because of wetland worries. But those images are beginning to fade.

Legacy Parkway is a needed and welcome addition to Utah transportation.

We say full speed ahead with the project to push it along. Or if not full speed, at least 55 mph.