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Legacy Parkway opens to public on Saturday

I will finally be able to drive to SLC from Davis County without my morning rant of "thanks Rocky!" YAHOO!!

I'm looking forward to driving the new highway...

What will be the fines for 18-wheelers using the parkway and when will violations be inforced?

Cool! A better commute and incentive to save gas.

This road was real triumph for Utah thanks to the efforts of environmentally concerned groups, who pushed for doing this project right, and not just blindly ramming it through. Although it must have been hard for the builders to listen to groups spouting phrases like "multimodal answers".

This road will be a cash cow for the highway patrol... Special enforcement is not being considered? I'm sure they are already drooling over the fact that some folks will be going 75 and 80 miles and hour. It will be all too easy to pull people over speeding in a "55 mph" zone.

There's something missing here. Where's the credit for those who insisted on changing this to a parkway? Looks like UDOT is happy to take the credit, with only a vague reference to "legal delays." Let's thank the people who made it better.

If only we could have illuminated signs that say "no Rocky" - he should be banned from this beautiful and needed highway. Shame on him and others who caused this to come 10 years later than it should have and cost the taxpayers millions more. Thanks to those who made it possible - finally!

Does the trail system connect with roads in Salt Lake City? The real question -- Will it be possible to ride a bike from the start of the trail in Farmington to downtown Salt Lake?

they should have a robot cop in both directions in working order to catch speeders.

If this truly is a trailway/highway.. Where is the trees, shade, covering from the intensity of the sun...? Quite sure it shall be a scenic route in the middle of nowhere, otherwise...

Wow, that's a lot of money for 14 miles! That's our tax dollars they're spending.

Blah Blah. Who cares about all of the scenic aspects really? The main purposed of the high should be to get cars and trucks to and from their destinations in the fastest, best way possible. All this other stuff was a waste of money. The enviromentalists, including Rocky bullied UDOT into make this unecessary changes.

I have to agree with Geezer--when I look back at what might have been if the people like Lynn de Freitas hadn't spoken up we would have done our usual blow and go destruction. We owe her and her associates a huge thank you, and it would sure be nice if UDOT would acknowledge that at every "award" they get for the project. And Leavitt should have to pay for his premature speculation that cost the project 200 million dollars. This is on his back but was conveniently passed on as the fault of those who made sure the road was done right. He will surely get the credit but none of the blame. But to those stewards of the Great Salt Lake who made sure this was done right, bravo! Thank you for your care of your magnificent place. UDOT and the people of Utah owe you a lifetime of apologies and respect.

Parkway is right, going 55 miles an hour is like being parked. It will be the same speed trap as Bangerter Highway.

@Cash Cow 654am:

You make it sounds like enforcing a law is a bad thing. Sorry you feel like you have to go wherever you go at 80mph and this will screw you up. Just deal with the laws and you won't have a problem with the cops, now will you?

to Geezer:

Truer words were never spoken.

Of course, if UDOT and Mike Leavitt hadn't insisted on cramming this down everyone's throats, even with the knowledge that their impact statement was fatally flawed (and the EPA themselves warned Leavitt of that), Rocky & and the Sierra Club could never have won their lawsuit.

Thanks, Mike and UDOT! Due to your blind stupidity, we got a much better road than you ever wanted us to have.

And thank you, Rocky Anderson, Sierra Club, and the other assorted environmental groups who I am forgetting, for standing up for your principles and forcing the issue.

And to everyone who's going to point out the extra cost that was spent because of the delay, and blaming Rocky and Co., i say: The environmentalists werent the ones who knew this was flawed and pressed on. Nor the ones who signed contracts with construction companies, knowing full-well the highway was on crumbing legal ground. That was your elected officials, costing you several hundred million bucks.

For a lot of you, its merely easier to blame a Democrat for being right than it is to blame a Republican for being wrong.

Yes, let's credit those who insisted on this being a "parkway." First of all... it's not that different from what was originally proposed. Secondly, it WILL be a cash cow for law enforcement at only 55 mph. And thirdly... was it worth the delays and nightmarish extra costs? Know the facts! That money could have gone to a lot of other things people complain are "short changed" in this state, ie education. Legacy was the greatest fundraiser the environmental cause has ever had in this state.

This article said there is an 8 inch pipeline to water the plants that will be along legacy highway. Since Utah is a water short state wouldn't it have been wiser to use native plants that don't require water?

Also, I-15 is so ugly, the sound walls are ugly except in SLC. Why can't all freeways be more attractive like legacy? Are we that cheap that we can't put in a little extra money to beautify our suroundings?

Many sound walls on I-15 were put in several feet from the border of the freeway, narrowing the freeway. Now when expansion needs to be done, there will be less ability to add lanes or have a safe amount of land on the side for cars that need to stop. This is short sighted thinking at its worst.

One more thing, Toll Roads are a really bad idea, make the gas tax greater, I don't want a state criscrossed with toll roads, they have those back east and they are terrible. They might solve other problems, but to say they are good is go ignore all their bad qualities.

Sure I leave the area and you finally do something to fix transportation. I now live in a city of 3.5 million and I still get to work faster in Seattle than I ever did in SLC and traffic is this city is horrible. Congratulations everyone. Enjoy the smooth ride.