I am writing in regard to the proposed Legacy Highway.
At a recent Woods Cross City Council meeting, a man who might have to be relocated spoke. He had approached the city to build a new shop where it was not zoned. But the city found a way to make it work. At that time the Legacy Highway was going to be built west of his property. But after UDOT made another change to the proposal, he found out that the highway ran right through his property. Right now he is paying for two buildings and losing money.There are two major alignments: Alignment A runs farther to the east, Alignment B runs more to the west. The major issue is the environmental impact. Alignment A costs $10 million more. Alignment B cuts into an additional 15 acres of wetland. The Army Corps of Engineers has only given approval for the former. When the Legacy Highway was first proposed, government leaders, including Gov. Mike Leavitt, vowed to minimize landowners' loss. But the land lovers don't want anything to affect their precious land. By the way, do you know what one of the criteria for a wetland is? "Would a rational duck land there on its own?" When is a rational duck more important than a hard-working human?
At one point, Alignment A is only 197 feet from I-15, with railroad tracks in the middle. If there is a disaster at this point, transportation could completely stop, making it difficult for people to escape or for emergency crews to get in. Alignment B would lessen this potential disaster immensely. Which is more important, a rational duck or human life? You decide.
Phillip Garner
Woods Cross