Farm bureau wants corridor plans reconsidered

OGDEN — The Utah Farm Bureau Federation is joining forces with local farmers in asking the state Department of Transportation to change plans for a new highway.

The Ogden Standard-Examiner reports that UDOT plans to build the 24-mile West Davis Corridor near the eastern shore of the Great Salt Lake.

The bureau says route proposals would pave over farms in Davis and Weber counties. Some are "century farms" held in continuous family ownership for more than 100 years.

Bureau CEO Randy Parker says UDOT should reconsider a route identified in a 2001 Wasatch Front Regional Council study.

Parker says the route would impact some federally protected wetlands areas, and notes that mitigation work would be required. But he thinks it's a better plan.

He says lost farmland can't be replaced.