LAYTON -- The Wasatch Front Regional Council adopted its revised long-range transportation plan on Thursday and the revision includes major changes in the Top of Utah.
The Regional Transportation Plan is the long-term blueprint for the Wasatch Front region's transportation system.
Perhaps the biggest change to come from the revision of the plan is the WFRC's decision to scrap plans to extend Legacy Parkway from 12th Street in Ogden north through the rest of Weber County. It also kills a proposal to widen Harrison Boulevard in Ogden.
"Now, for the northern portion (of Legacy), we're only looking at corridor preservation," WFRC spokesman Sam Klemm said. "We don't anticipate enough growth to require the road to be built (in the next 30 years), but when that time does come, we want to have a corridor preserved so we aren't plowing over anybody's house."
The Utah Department of Transportation is currently working on a multiyear study of the West Davis Corridor, which will determine a solution to fit transportation needs in the western portion of Weber County and in Davis County in the year 2040, but the study area doesn't include anything north of 12th Street.
Another big change is that the WFRC is no longer planning to widen Harrison Boulevard from 20th Street to Highway 89. Now, the plan calls for only operational improvements on the road from 20th Street to Country Hill Drive, and widening the road from four lanes to six from Country Hills Drive to Highway 89.
"We had some concerns from citizens and the city council and the mayor asked us to take it off," Klemm said.
The WFRC also plans for new construction in Davis County, extending Fairfield Road in Layton from SR 193 to Interstate 84 in South Weber.
"We think that will take some pressure off of I-15 and Highway 89," Klemm said.
The RTP is updated every four years and plans for 30 years into the future, identifying and analyzing transportation needs and creating a framework for project priorities.
Klemm said the plan is the governing document for UDOT and the Utah Transit Authority, which means any new capacity expansion projects from either of those two entities must first be adopted in the RTP.
"Whether it's a new streetcar or even just a new lane, it has to be on this plan first," Klemm said.
To view the plan in its entirety, visit www.wfrc.org.
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