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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah's long-delayed Legacy Parkway -- a 14-mile highway for Salt Lake commuters -- has received final approval from federal agencies.
U-DOT says the approval of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Highway Administration will allow work to resume in early March.
Legacy will connect Farmington north of Salt Lake City to the Interstate-215 beltway, bypassing heavily traveled I-15.
Both federal agencies gave approval for the parkway in 2000, but were overturned by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ordered a more complete environmental review in a lawsuit brought by several environmental groups.
Gov. Jon Huntsman and legislators negotiated an out-of-court settlement in November with the groups that held up construction.
The deal will make Legacy a restricted road for cars and light trucks. The four-lane road will meander and curve to skirt some wetlands instead of taking a straighter path. The speed limit will be 55 miles per hour instead of 65 miles per hour.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
