Happy birthday, Legacy Parkway! You're 1 today! When it comes to highways, you're just a little tyke: 14 miles long, two lanes each direction. But you have big dreams, and you've changed people's lives.

It seems like only yesterday when then-Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. mounted a Harley and began driving south. Everyone cheered when you opened.

Most people groaned at how much you cost the state — $685 million. But the thousands of people who were stuck on I-15 in July 2008 when that 110-foot tanker blocked traffic would have shelled out that much to see you open early.

Though not as many people are driving on you today as did a year ago, you're still a beloved stretch of pavement.

If you try really hard, you might just be a national scenic byway some day. And you might grow up if an environmental study pans out.

The Utah Department of Transportation is glad you're around, and so are the thousands of people who commute to work on you instead of your big brother, I-15.

Happy birthday, little guy.

This is your life

Cheryl Ward remembers what she calls the ugly commute home from Salt Lake City to her home in Clinton. In the morning, getting to work was no problem because she left early. But when quitting time came around, she was on I-15, at a crawl, along with everyone else.

It would take up to 90 minutes to get home some days.

"I've often hated my commute," Ward said.

Ken Hodges, of Roy, was in the same boat, er, logjam. For the past 6 1/2 years, he has been commuting from Roy to Magna to his countertops business, Top Haus.

From I-15 to I-215 to state Route 201 to 3200 West, his commute was an hour and 10 minutes.

Hodges immediately began taking Legacy Parkway when it opened in 2008. Even with speeds limited to 55 mph, he saves time — up to five hours a week.

"I can make it during rush hour in 40-50 minutes, right in that range," he said.

Ward says the parkway is "like being in another world" and gets her home in 40 minutes.

"I think everyone would say it's successful," said Vic Saunders, a UDOT spokesman.

One way to measure that is by the average number of daily trips on the parkway.

When it opened, 30,365 trips were being made between 500 South in Woods Cross and Parrish Lane in Centerville. In 2009, though, that number has dropped to 29,263 — about 1,100 fewer trips.

But a tight economy has meant less commuting in general.

"The numbers are holding with what is expected," Saunders said. "Just having that safety valve there for when things do occur on I-15 and having an alternate northbound route is worth it all by itself."