Committee backs RTP Amendment 4—to accelerate Legacy Parkway and I‑15 widening; public comment opposes Legacy expansion

The Regional Growth Committee voted Oct. 16 to recommend that the Wasatch Front Regional Council approve draft Amendment 4 to the 2023–2050 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and the associated air-quality memorandum 43. The amendment, requested by UDOT, would accelerate several highway projects into the fiscally constrained phase 1 of the RTP, including (1) adding a travel lane in each direction on Legacy Parkway in Davis County and (2) combining planned passing lanes and a later widening on a segment of I‑15 in Box Elder County into a single accelerated widening project.

WFRC staff said the Legacy Parkway work would remain inside the existing roadway footprint by widening into the median and that UDOT expects benefits including improved traffic management during the planned I‑15 reconstruction, a shorter I‑15 construction window (UDOT estimated construction could be 9–12 months shorter) and an estimated cost saving of roughly $200 million on the I‑15 project. The Legacy Parkway widening would change the additional lanes from planned high-occupancy toll lanes to general-purpose lanes in the updated project description, and funding was identified through the Transportation Investment Fund (TIF).

UDOT deputy director Ben Hewitt told the committee the Legacy Parkway widening is part of a larger, coordinated approach that also includes FrontRunner double-tracking and bus service improvements; he reiterated that the widening under consideration would use the existing roadway footprint, that UDOT is following noise-policy and environmental-review procedures, and that public input and mitigation will be part of the project process.

Public comment at the meeting included Roger Borgenich, representing Utahns for Better Transportation and Friends of the Great Salt Lake, who urged the committee to oppose the Legacy Parkway widening. Borgenich said his groups oppose Amendment 4 because adding a third lane in each direction would turn Legacy into a six-lane highway and harm homes, parks, schools, nature preserves, and the Legacy Parkway Scenic Byway and the heavily used Legacy Bike Trail. He urged the committee to prioritize transit alternatives — particularly improvements to FrontRunner frequency enabled by the ongoing double-tracking project — before widening I‑15 or Legacy Parkway.

WFRC staff reported that nine public comments were received during the official public comment period for Amendment 4; six concerned Legacy Parkway and all nine expressed opposition to additional freeway widening. Staff forwarded those comments to UDOT Region 1 and the Legacy Parkway environmental study team.

After discussion, a committee member moved to recommend approval of Amendment 4 and the draft air-quality memorandum 43; another committee member seconded. Committee members voted in favor and the amendment and air-quality determination will be considered for final action by the full WFRC council at its Oct. 23 meeting.

WFRC staff and UDOT noted that environmental review and public outreach are ongoing for the Legacy Parkway study and that the amendment does not itself begin construction; it updates the RTP project phasing and cost assumptions and allows the region’s constrained plan to reflect UDOT’s requested sequencing and funding decisions. UDOT and WFRC staff asked that the committee forward the amendment and the air-quality memorandum to the full council for approval so that the RTP reflects current construction sequencing and financing.