SALT LAKE CITY (AP) _ Construction of the Legacy Highway will not begin until August, but work will start within the next few days on an east-west road in Farmington that would eventually link to Gov. Mike Leavitt's proposed highway.
Under an agreement reached Wednesday between the Utah Department of Transportation and the groups opposed to the project, UDOT will not break ground before Aug. 1 on the first phase of Legacy. The first phase is the 14 miles between Interstate 215 in Salt Lake County and Farmington.
In exchange, Utahns for Better Transportation, Mayor Rocky Anderson and the Sierra Club, parties that sued UDOT in federal court to halt the project, have agreed not to seek a preliminary injunction against the construction.
The opponents of the project contend federal agencies violated environmental laws when they approved the route, which would wipe out 114 acres of wetlands along the eastern shore of Great Salt Lake.
Marc Heileson of the Sierra Club said UDOT's upgrade to Burke Lane in Farmington with the construction of an overpass and an extension of the road is unrelated to Legacy.
"UDOT is willing to bar construction until Aug. 1. We're happy with that," Heileson said. "The reason we agreed to Burke Lane is it really has nothing to do with Legacy."
Byron Parker, Legacy Highway project director, said Wednesday's agreement will not delay UDOT's construction schedule. He said that although Burke Lane has been a part of the city of Farmington's master plan, it is also an essential part of the Legacy project.
"The Burke Lane was our first scheduled part of work that we were going to do for the Legacy Highway anyway," Parker said. "Would we be building Burke Lane if we weren't building Legacy? No we would not. It might be built at some other later date, but we wouldn't be doing it now."
The agreement does allow UDOT to do other work in preparation for Legacy construction, including geotechnical testing, soil surveying, property acquisition, installing fences and relocating above- ground utility lines. Parker said UDOT has already secured permits for construction and plans to proceed with breaking ground by Aug. 1, several days after the case is scheduled for argument in federal court on July 26.
Heileson said in the meantime, he feels assured that none of UDOT's work would involve any "earth-moving or cause irreparable harm to the ecosystem."
(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APTV 05-17-01 0255MDT
