The North Davis Sewer District has announced it opposes the western alignment for the Western Transportation Corridor/"Legacy" Highway.
This is the latest in a series of moves that is delaying selection of an alignment for the much-needed highway.The alignment of the Legacy Highway in south Davis County is pretty well decided, but the route for the north end has been debated for several months. West Point wants the Bluff Road alignment used, since that's the corridor the city has protected for more than a decade.
However, Syracuse officials favor a more western alignment to avoid splitting the city in half.
District manager Robert Hohman said he is against the multilane highway being constructed near 4000 West, just east of the sewer plant, because it will create a variety of expensive problems for his operation.
"It would interfere with any further upgrading," Hohman said.
The district's main sewer trunk lines run east and southeast out of the facility at 4252 W. 2200 South, and Hohman said having such a large highway nearby would make installing new trunk lines under the roadway extremely expensive and impractical.
The trunk lines are 54 inches in diameter. The heavy growth in north Davis County will require the district to expand its lines for at least the next two decades.
Hohman also has a another major concern - the district's new $1.3 million laboratory. It was purposely built next to the administrative offices, at the east end of the district's 351-acre plant. The location was selected to be as far away as possible from any pumps or motors that would cause vibrations for the lab.
"The lab's instruments are very delicate," Hohman said.
Having such a large highway a hundred yards away from such a lab be very detrimental, Hohman said.
He bases a lot of his concerns on his own home. Hoh-man lives along Highway 89 in east Layton and said traffic on that busy four-lane road shakes the dishes and a lot of other things regularly in his home.
The North Davis Sewer District serves some 150,000 residents in Layton, Syracuse, West Point, Clinton, Sunset and Roy, plus a large unincorporated area.
The district is planning a public open house for its new laboratory in late July.