UDOT to kick off $8M Davis County study on 'Legacy North'

OGDEN — People may still call it Legacy North, but the future road along western Davis County is currently unknown.

Sure, a possible alignment for a roadway has been on planning maps for years in Farmington, Kaysville, Layton, Syracuse, West Point and West Haven.

And the Wasatch Front Regional Council envisions a four-lane road in Davis County and a two-lane road in Weber County.

But there's nothing official on paper saying exactly what a western Davis corridor would look like.

That's because the Utah Department of Transportation is just now getting ready to kick off an $8 million federal environmental impact statement study to look at all of the options.

"We're calling it the West Davis Corridor," said UDOT project manager Randy Jefferies, "so we can keep an open mind to various solutions that exist out there."

Starting in February, UDOT's study will examine a 24-mile corridor from Centerville to 12th Street in West Haven, and from I-15 to the shore of the Great Salt Lake.

The three-year study will determine various forms of transportation with the end goal of figuring out the best way to move people. That could include a road or highway, bus routes or a rail option. Later in February, UDOT will begin asking for input to find out about residents' needs.

Alternatives should be identified by early 2011, Jefferies said, and by fall 2011, the study should be in draft form to receive more public comment.

A western Davis highway was conceptualized as early as 1962, but no progress was truly made until 2008, when Legacy Parkway, which runs 14 miles from Farmington to the Salt Lake County border, was completed.

Studies in 2001, '07 and '09 have allowed planners to have a handle on where a future road could go northward along the rest of Davis County and into Weber County.

The Davis County Council of Governments has begun buying parcels of land within the corridor before the land is developed, thus saving the government from having to buy more expensive land in the future.

So far, the council has purchased 66.9 acres, really just a drop in the bucket in terms of what is needed to build a road from Farmington along western Davis County to the Weber County border.

Every year, Davis County collects about $2 million in special vehicle registration fees, which are designated for buying land for future roads. And county leaders expect to buy more land in the future.

"It's potentially a long corridor," Jefferies said. "There are a lot of things to consider."

Public meetings about the West Davis Corridor will run from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 23-25.

Feb. 23: Syracuse High School, 665 S. 2000 West, Syracuse

Feb. 24: Legacy Events Center, 151 S. 1100 West, Farmington

Feb. 25: West Weber Elementary, 4178 W. 900 South, Ogden

Public meetings about the West Davis Corridor will run from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Feb. 23-25

Feb. 23: Syracuse High School, 665 S. 2000 West, Syracuse

Feb. 24: Legacy Events Center, 151 S. 1100 West, Farmington

Feb. 25: West Weber Elementary, 4178 W. 900 South, Ogden

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