NORTH SALT LAKE -- Gov. Mike Leavitt took advantage of the opening of a new business building at the North Pointe Business Park to beat the drum once again for the Legacy Parkway.
"This is an area where much commerce will be locating and where the number of jobs is expected to double. That will bring more traffic and place greater demand on the infrastructure so it would be very nice if we had the Legacy Highway," said the governor at the opening of the Avante Window Co.'s new building at 835 W. North Pointe Circle.The $2.2 million, 27,000-square-foot facility facing I-215 will house the company's 80 employees, previously located in West Bountiful and West Jordan.
"The highway is also important to prevent the impact of growth from destroying wetlands," Leavitt said. "It will form a barrier beyond which development will not occur."
Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, an investor in Avante, also spoke at the opening and later told a reporter he was trying to act as an "honest broker" between state and federal officials who differ on which path the Legacy Parkway should take. While Davis County and Utah officials want an alignment farther to the west, local officials of the U.S. Corps of Engineers have said a path farther to the east would be less damaging to wetlands. Several environmental groups oppose building the highway at all.
"Indications that it's needed are strong," said Bennett of the proposed parkway from Farmington to Salt Lake City. The senator said he expects the parkway will eventually be built, but "it will take longer than we want."
Matt Bain, president of the company, said he decided to relocate to the North Pointe Business Park because the location makes it easier to ship products and advertise itself by fronting I-215, where 40,000 cars pass by every day.