WFRC advances Amendment 4 to RTP: Legacy Parkway widening moved up; I‑15 Box Elder widening advanced; passing lane project removed

George Honor, WFRC director of long-range planning, presented Amendment 4 to the 2023–2050 Regional Transportation Plan, describing three level-3 (full) amendment items: (1) move the Legacy Parkway widening to phase 1 and update cost and lane type; (2) move an I‑15 widening project in Box Elder County into phase 1 with identified funds; (3) remove a previously programmed I‑15 operational passing-lane project in Box Elder County because the widening replaces the need for the passing lanes.

Honor said UDOT’s analysis concluded the Legacy Parkway widening (add one lane each direction between I‑215 and the US‑89/I‑15 interchange in Farmington) provides operational benefits during I‑15 construction, could shorten I‑15 construction by an estimated nine to 12 months, and yields an estimated $200 million in cost savings for the I‑15 work if built earlier. He said the lane type will be changed from high-occupancy/toll lanes to general-purpose lanes and that the Transportation Investment Fund is the source identified for Legacy Parkway funding.

The nut graf: UDOT and WFRC staff told the committee that moving Legacy Parkway up in the schedule would improve construction operations on I‑15, shorten construction time, reduce costs and provide safer working conditions; related adjustments in Box Elder County rephase an I‑15 widening into phase 1 and remove a separate passing-lane project that would be redundant.

Honor said technical screening and interagency consultation have been completed, and Federal Highways reviewed fiscal constraints. He described regional-level performance implications and reported that vehicle-hours-traveled measures show modest improvements in the subject counties by the end of phase 1 (2032).

Action: Wendellyn (full name not recorded in the transcript) moved that the Regional Growth Committee release the level‑3 full amendment projects and the supporting air‑quality conformity determination to a 30‑day public comment period for Amendment 4; Matthew Castle, Riverton, seconded. The committee voice-voted ‘‘aye’’ with no recorded opposition and directed staff to post public notice and hold comment August 22–September 22, after which comments will be reviewed and a recommendation returned to the Regional Growth Committee in October and then forwarded for approval in late October.

Ending: Honor said the amendment will proceed to the public-comment phase and that WFRC staff will notify Box Elder and Davis County councils of governments as part of the outreach.