SALT LAKE CITY — Legacy Parkway, the north-south arterial connecting Davis and Salt Lake counties, is in line for a major upgrade to accommodate growing traffic.
“Our purpose in proposing to add a lane in each direction is to improve travel times and increase mobility in Davis County, which will strengthen our economy,” said Eric Chaston, a Utah Department of Transportation project manager, in a video unveiling the proposal.
Plans call for the addition of a third lane going each way between the existing northbound and southbound lanes, thereby eliminating the need to acquire additional right-of-way.
At the same time, the upgrade, with an estimated $65 million price tag, would enable to roadway to handle traffic diverted from I-15 when the even larger, $2.9 billion upgrade of that roadway between Davis and Salt Lake counties starts, possibly in 2027. That could save the state an estimated $200 million and shave a year off the I-15 project, UDOT officials estimate.
Adding capacity for cars on Legacy, also known as state Route 67, would “provide more area for construction on I-15,” said UDOT spokesman Mitch Shaw. “This, in turn, allows work to progress more rapidly. The cost savings is based on the contractor completing the (I-15) project in less time, along with reduced costs for managing traffic on I-15 since some of it will be diverted to Legacy.”
The Legacy Parkway plans, more specifically the state environmental study for the project, will be the focus of an open house on Wednesday, Sept. 24, from 5-7 p.m. at Foxboro Elementary School in North Salt Lake. A 30-day comment period started on Sept. 10 and goes through Oct. 10, and feedback can be submitted at Wednesday’s event or via phone, email or traditional mail. UDOT officials hope to pick a contractor to manage the project later this year or in early 2026.
The proposed addition of new travel lanes to the 11.5-mile-long Legacy Parkway, completed in 2008, would be the first major expansion of the road. Legacy traverses the more westerly side of Davis County, tying into I-215 in northern Salt Lake County, and serves as a key transportation link between the Farmington and Salt Lake City areas. While state planning and roads officials are finalizing funding for the Legacy project, plans call for the work to start and finish in 2026 “if all goes to plan,” Chaston said.
Given the expected increase in traffic flow in the years to come, UDOT officials worry the Legacy Parkway will be operating under “failing conditions” by 2050 if no upgrades are implemented.
They note, though, the possibility of increased noise brought on by additional traffic and propose two noise walls along the roadway, in conjunction with the expansion on the west side of Woods Cross, to buffer the Foxboro neighborhood. UDOT officials considered noise barriers in four other sections, but the expected conditions didn’t merit installation of the barriers, according to Chaston.
As for the I-15 proposal from U.S. 89 in Farmington south to 600 North in Salt Lake City, plans entail the addition of travel lanes, improved interchanges and bridges, new shared-use paths and much more.
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