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ROY — Roy was once a sleepy Weber County community. An Albertsons. Ben Franklin Crafts was popular before Michaels became a thing. Burger Bar is still there and the exotic meat of the month can be yak or alligator. If you were a high school-age kid, the Burger Bar on 1900 West was the place to be and you would stand around the corner waiting for your order because there was no seating inside.
Growth has caught up with with Roy. It has always been the gateway to Hill Air Force Base — the second largest employer in Utah, but somehow traffic managed to overwhelm the existing headaches with the west gate at 5600 South and the alternate route of 650 North.
Today, those thoroughfares are now nearly at an absolute standstill. Banks and fast food joints have been razed. There are piles of dirt in front of Lindquist's Mortuary on 5600 South and shrubs, flowers and lawn that had to be removed to facilitate the road widening.
"I don't know how often you traveled that road, but there was major congestion all the time on that road. So like I said, it had to be done. It's just It's unfortunate. They took our property, but they also took everyone else's house, and so we aren't the only ones that are having to make do with what needs to be done," said Bobby Lindquist. "The west part of Weber and Davis county really hasn't been developed. The infrastructure is not what it should be, and it's slowly coming along."
As painful as the changes are, Lindquist said the transportation agency has been responsive and informative.
The project cost estimated by the Utah Department of Transportation is $238 million, to bring Roy from its sleeping community status to meet transportation demands moving forward.
The Utah Department of Transportation has partnered with Habitat for Humanity to salvage and utilize items from properties prior to demolition. Venturing onto the structures scheduled for demolition is formally considered trespassing by UDOT. Authorized inspectors may have also previously uncovered asbestos, lead and other hazardous materials that present serious safety issues.
Construction began in June 2023 and the project is estimated to be complete in fall 2026.
For the latest construction impacts, sign up for project construction updates by emailing at 5600south@utah.gov or project impacts to travel can be found on the UDOT Traffic website, www.udot.utah.gov/traffic or by downloading the UDOT Traffic app.
Construction along the Wasatch Front
With Utah the fastest growing state in the nation, the Wasatch Front Regional Council has been kept on its toes. There are construction projects from border to border. The council spells it out in its strategy vision when it comes to transportation.
As Utah continues to grow, the next big project is to widen I-15 from Davis County to Salt Lake County. Growth in the state is happening right down the street — more town homes and apartments.
The transportation agency also is engaged in:
- A $466 million Mountain View Corridor from Porter Rockwell Boulevard with 2,100 North in Lehi.
- A $23.2 million to refurbish 20 bridges in Salt Lake County
- $117 million to San Juan County designed to make travel safer, smoother and more convenient for several national monuments
"We're looking out for the next generation that will be living here and we have to coordinate and really look ahead in order to kind of maintain our quality of life," said Johnnae Nardone, communications manager with the Wasatch Front Regional Council.. "And right now, it feels a little prickly, it feels a little hard, because there's so much change that's happening. But if we don't plan and coordinate, we are not going to be able to enjoy the things we enjoy now."
