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Regional panel releases Amendment 4 — including Legacy Parkway lane addition — for 30-day public comment
Summary
The Regional Growth Committee voted to release Amendment 4 to the 2023–2050 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and its air-quality conformity memo for a 30-day public comment period. The amendment would accelerate work on Legacy Parkway and a section of I‑15 in Box Elder County and remove a passing-lane project from the plan.
The Wasatch Front Regional Council’s Regional Growth Committee voted Aug. 21 to release Amendment 4 to the 2023–2050 Regional Transportation Plan and its air-quality conformity memorandum for a 30-day public comment period.
The amendment would (1) move forward a project to add one lane in each direction on Legacy Parkway between I‑215 and the U.S.‑89/I‑15 interchange in Farmington, (2) accelerate a widening project on I‑15 in Box Elder County, and (3) remove a smaller I‑15 passing‑lane/operational project from the RTP because the widening would supersede it. WFRC staff said the Legacy change also converts planned HOT lanes to general‑purpose lanes for that corridor in the RTP.
Why it matters: UDOT told regional planners that doing the Legacy Parkway widening before major work on I‑15 will improve traffic flow during construction, shorten I‑15 construction time by an estimated 9–12 months and reduce I‑15 construction costs by about $200 million, according to materials presented to the committee. The Regional Growth Committee voted to release the amendment for public comment from Aug. 22 to Sept. 22; final action would be taken by the full Wasatch Front Regional Council after public input and required interagency reviews.
What supporters and critics said: Roger Borgenich, co‑chair of Utahns for Better Transportation, urged the committee to reject the Legacy Parkway lane addition. “Widening Legacy Parkway to accommodate more automobile travel during I‑15 widening and removing the designation for an HOV lane is short sighted,” he said during public comment, arguing the region should prioritize FrontRunner double‑tracking and electrification to give commuters an attractive transit alternative.
A UDOT representative, Tiffany Pocock, said the agency supports the amendment and emphasized that the Legacy change will shorten I‑15 construction and improve safety for workers and the traveling public during the work.
Next steps: The committee approved a motion to release the draft amendment and the air‑quality conformity analysis for a 30‑day public comment period (Aug. 22–Sept. 22). Staff will collect and summarize comments and return them to the Regional Growth Committee in October; the full council is slated to consider final approval after that review.
Votes at a glance: Motion to release Amendment 4 and Draft Air Quality Conformity Memorandum 43 for a 30‑day public comment period — motion passed by voice vote; committee recorded no opposed votes and moved the package forward to public comment.
Background and context: The RTP guides long‑range, fiscally constrained regional transportation investment. WFRC staff said the amendment follows established interagency consultation and federal financial‑constraint review procedures and that Federal Highway staff reviewed the fiscal assumptions used in the amendment.
