Parkway nears the finish line

FARMINGTON — Eighteen bridges — 10 in the Farmington area, a few of which are some of the longest bridges in Utah — had to be built to make the 14-mile Legacy Parkway work. Those are just for the cars.

Ten pedestrian bridges are being built to accommodate people traveling in the same area by foot, bike or horse.

Enough concrete for 2,500 foundations for homes has been used so far.

And because the Legacy Parkway is now 80 percent complete, more is still to come.

When the parkway opens this fall, it will be the second-largest road project in Utah and carry a $685 million price tag. It comes in second only to the $1.6 billion I-15 reconstruction leading up to the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games.

But Legacy will drop to third place after completion of a 20-mile I-15 reconstruction project in Utah County, which is expected to cost $2.6 billion. Construction on that project is expected to begin in late 2009 or early 2010 and could last five years.

Todd Jensen, the project director for Legacy, is excited to get Legacy done. Jensen has been involved with the parkway since 1997. He took a brief break in 2004 to be the state's bridge engineer and came back to the project in January 2007.

He's the guy who can talk about the feel of the parkway, its "gateways" and basically every engineering aspect of building it.

Although the parkway has garnered much publicity since it was announced, some people still think it will be a toll road, Jensen says.

It won't be.

Rather, the rock-faced overpasses from North Salt Lake to Centerville and large monuments being built in Farmington will let motorists know they're driving on a different type of road, and the trees that will be planted nearby will mimic the orchards of Fruit Heights and Farmington.

This different kind of road will be quieter than a standard freeway. The speed limit is 55 mph, and it will be paved in asphalt.

Instead of running across the roadway, the tines, or small grooves that are added to roadways to aid in water drainage, will run lengthwise.

When completed, northbound motorists on I-215 will drive straight onto Legacy unless they choose to exit the freeway toward I-15. It's the same situation for U.S. 89 motorists heading south.