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Home » News » Story View ong>Mile follows mile of the South Davis segment of Legacy Parkway

NORTH SALT LAKE -- Commuters in Davis County who are fed up with idling motionless in gridlocked traffic, need hold to on just a little longer -- relief is less than a year away.

Monday marked the halfway point for completion of Legacy Parkway, the South Davis segment of the larger Legacy Highway project. The freeway will eventually run from Brigham City in the north down the western side of the Wasatch Front to Nephi in the south.

A ceremony was held at the construction site of a new Center Street bridge in North Salt Lake to celebrate the milestone.

"As I drove up here today, I could smell asphalt in the air," said Utah Department of Transportation Executive Director John Njord. "And that is the smell of progress."

Construction on the 14-mile, four-lane Legacy Parkway began in March 2006, with full construction starting in early 2007.

UDOT officials said Legacy is scheduled to open to motorists in September 2008.

"The contract completion date is Sept. 30," said Legacy Parkway Project Director Todd Jensen. "We don't anticipate any delays, and with a little help from the weather, we may even be able to finish early."

UDOT officials said when the project opens, 30 percent of Interstate 15 traffic will move to the Parkway, transforming transportation in Northern Utah and bringing significant congestion relief to I-15.

"I was told by a reliable source that it took 50 minutes to get here from Farmington this morning," Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman said at the ceremony. "In my mind that is stressing and straining quality of life. Legacy Parkway is going to be a significant part of improving that."

Stuart Adams, chairman of the Utah Transportation Commission, agreed with Huntsman's assessment.

"This is a quality-of-life issue," Adams said. "You can't quantify the missed soccer games and missed ballet recitals and school activities, or even just time at home. This project will ease one of the most congested pieces of I-15 in the region -- the stretch from Farmington to Centerville."

To date, 7 million tons of dirt, 59,000 cubic yards of concrete and 17.8 million pounds of steel have been used in the Parkway construction.

Currently, 600 full-time construction workers from three different contracted construction teams are dedicated to the project.

Ames Construction Inc., Clyde-Geneva Constructors and Wadsworth Brothers are all working on separate locations within the Parkway corridor.

"A lot of hard work has gone into the project so far," said Jensen. "We've been very impressed with the work ethic of the three contractors involved. A lot of people just see the end result, but there has been a lot of hard work behind the scenes."

When completed, the Legacy Highway will pass through six communities in Davis and Salt Lake counties and will cost a total of $685 million. The entire highway is not projected to be completed until 2025 or later.

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