Davis council votes to buy land for future road

LAYTON — Most of the funding is available to build a major five-mile road from Clearfield through Syracuse and West Point at 200 South.

The road would extend state Route 193 westward to reach the eventual path of a northern portion of the Legacy Parkway.

The project was originally designed as a five-lane road, but because the Utah Department of Transportation has $43 million in funding for the project, only three lanes can be built.

With $4 million, though, enough land could be secured for two lanes to be built later.

The Davis County Council of Governments voted last week to use money dedicated for corridor preservation to make up the $4 million. About half of that money would come from fees collected by Davis County for vehicle registrations, and the other half would come from a match from the state of Utah.

The thought is that if UDOT knows the land is acquired, it could have an easier time getting funding to complete the project from the Utah Legislature.

The council's vote is a one-time deviation from a plan to purchase land to extend Legacy Parkway northward. The council so far has purchased 67 acres of the land needed for the future Legacy extension. The decision to buy land for 200 South would only cause a slight delay to the purchase of land for Legacy, said Davis County planner Scott Hess.  Original Article