FARMINGTON – As work continues on the state’s extensive West Davis Corridor project, part of one of Northern Utah’s most popular hiking trails will be closed for a year.
According to an email from the Utah Department of Transportation’s WDC project team, the Legacy Parkway Trail between Glovers Lane and 1250 West in Farmington will close on Friday to begin work on the $ 750 million WDC project. UDOT says the stretch will be diverted to Glovers Lane and then to the Denver and Rio Grand Trail, which runs parallel to 800 West. The trail will remain closed for roughly the next year, says UDOT.
The paved Legacy Trail is usually open to hikers and bikers and stretches the entire 14 miles of the park trail. It includes a viewing area for the 2,100 acre nature reserve at 2100 W. 500 South in Woods Cross. The nature reserve has bare mud flats, seasonal wet meadows, swamps and several open water channels. It connects the Great Salt Lake ecosystem with the Wasatch Mountains.
The West Davis Project, which is essentially the extension of Legacy Parkway north, comprises a four-lane, split highway built through western Davis County between the intersection of Interstate 15 and Legacy Parkway at Glovers Lane in Farmington and extends north to the future extension of State Route 193 at West Point.
At the intersection of Legacy / I-15 and 950 North in Farmington, 200 North in Kaysville, 2700 West in Layton and 2000 West and Antelope Drive in Syracuse, degree-separated junctions are being built. The new alternative to the I-15 will also include more than 10 miles of new trail and trail connections to create a consolidated trail system that connects the Emigration Trail with the Legacy Parkway Trail.
West Davis project manager Rex Harris previously told the Standards Auditor that the impact on the traveling audience will be mostly limited to road crossing on their way to various construction sites in western Davis County. He noted, however, that at some point there will be an impact on I-15 where the freeway connects with it. Harris said heavy truck haulage will begin at the southern end of the project area in Farmington and will gradually be relocated north.
Currently, these transportation operations take place Monday through Friday during the day along designated transportation routes on Park Lane, Glovers Lane, 1525 West, 650 West, 200 North, Gentile Street, 2700 South, Antelope Drive and SR 193.
According to the UDOT email, around 4 million cubic meters of filler material are expected to be transported to the project site. The filler material is used to create the base of the highway, embankments, and berms. In Farmington, the material is kept for up to 18 months so that it can settle on the existing soil. As the ground settles, other WDC activities will continue, such as bridge construction, construction of the road to I-15, and utility relocation, according to UDOT.
Zach Whitney, communications manager for UDOT Region One, said Farmington Bay Constructors had been selected to design and build the new highway. The company is a joint venture between Ames Construction, Wadsworth Brothers Construction and Staker Parson Materials and Construction. The contract with Farmington Bay and the state stipulates that construction of the road must be completed by fall 2024.
