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PLAIN CITY, Utah (AP) -- People in western Weber County have seen a major transportation plan for the area -- right through their properties.
"It's going right through my farm," Dennis Martini said. "We farm corn, barley and raise cattle.
"I don't know what I'll do if they take my farm away. I've got kids, and we're barely getting by as we are now," he said.
The Utah Department of Transportation held an open house Thursday on the North Legacy Transportation Corridor.
More than 100 people crowded into a room at Fremont High School to see a large map of the proposed corridor. A route through Davis County was approved earlier this year.
Part of the proposed route through Weber County travels on the east side of 5100 West between Hooper and Roy. There are a few alternatives.
"A final route will be announced by the end of the year," UDOT spokesman Andy Neff said.
A freeway along the west side of Weber County still is decades away. Planners first anticipate building a five-lane street with traffic signals, Neff said.
There would enough room for a freeway as northern Utah grows, he added.
"It goes right through my retirement," Roger Heslop said. "They're taking away our property rights."
A recent survey of 300 households in western Weber County found 78 percent said it was important that land be set aside for the corridor.
"Nobody ever said anything to me," Martini said. "Talk to the people right in the path, not the people five or 10 miles away from it."
Stuart Adams, chairman of the state Transportation Commission, was sympathetic.
"One of the challenges when I-15 was built was that it split communities and was not a very popular road, but the thought of not having it today is unimaginable," he said. "Thirty years from now, when this is built, our grandkids will be having the same thoughts."
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Information from: Standard-Examiner
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
