UDOT putting finishing touches on West Davis Highway ahead of weekend opening
Jan 3, 2024, 12:00 PM | Updated: 12:15 pm
The West Davis Corridor, which connects western Davis County communities with a viable alternative to I-15, is pictured on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024 in Syracuse. (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
(Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
FARMINGTON, Utah — The Utah Department of Transportation said there isn’t much left to do along the West Davis Highway ahead of its grand opening this weekend.
UDOT Spokesperson Mitch Shaw told KSL NewsRadio all that’s left to do is some cosmetic work and landscaping. That work might cause some scattered lane closures after it opens. Other than the final inspections, Shaw said the road and trail system are ready to go.
Background
Shaw said there have been talks of building a highway that runs through western Davis County for decades. After years of study and planning, UDOT began construction on the West Davis Highway in May 2021.
UDOT originally estimated they’d have the project done by the summer of 2024. However, everything lined up to finish almost six months early.
Shaw said it’s their biggest undertaking in more than a decade with an estimated price tag of $750 million.
The 16-mile highway is a four-lane divided highway, two lanes on each side, which is very similar to Legacy Parkway, which it also has a connecting ramp to.
The highway runs from I-15 on the Centerville/Farmington border to SR-193 in West Point. There are exits at 950 North in Farmington, 200 North in Kaysville, 2700 West in Layton, 2000 West in Syracuse and Antelope Drive in Syracuse.
The project also includes 10 miles of new trails that connect the Emigration and Legacy Parkway Trail systems.
The impact of the new highway
Shaw said the project has two big impacts. First, it redirects drivers away from I-15, easing some of the congestion. Second, it provides people living in western Davis County a more direct line to where they live, versus battling surface street traffic from their I-15 exit.
For example, if someone from Salt Lake City wants to go to Antelope Island State Park, they can now take a straight line of freeways all the way to Antelope Drive in Syracuse, rather than having to get off on that same road several miles to the east.
The new highway, which will from now on be known as SR-177, is set to open to traffic on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. following a fun run and a ceremony.
