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How the top 10 were selected
The 50 highways in the report were all nominated by local citizen organizations and individuals, then researched by Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) and Friends of the Earth (FOE) staff in consultation with local and national transportation advocates. All 50 projects are unneeded, all have serious problems, all face significant local opposition and none should be built. They are presented in no particular order.
The two report authors, TCS and FOE, selected the Road to Ruin Top 10 list from the 50 proposed highways in the report. This list represents the most wasteful and environmentally harmful highways in the U.S. We ranked the proposed roads by using three major criteria and four minor criteria. The three major criteria are as follows:
- Cost to taxpayers
High ranking went to those roads with the highest overall cost to federal taxpayers, and/or the highest cost per mile.
- Impact on the environment
High ranking went to those roads that would be built through national parks or impact national marine sanctuaries. We also considered other impacts, including: building through national forest land legislated to remain forever roadless and wild; impact on wild and scenic rivers; impact on national wildlife refuges; built in national forest; and, built in state parks.
- Induces sprawl
Proposed roads that feed sprawl development in suburbs and areas far from downtown cores.
In addition, extra ranking was also given to those proposed roads that met one or more of the following minor criteria: contributes significantly to the loss of farmland; cuts through historically designated areas and undermines efforts for historic preservation; worsens regional air quality problems; and undermines existing local businesses by routing traffic away from downtowns and thriving business corridors.
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Legacy Highway (UT)
Redundant Road Costs Billions
This 120-mile project has a staggering estimated total price tag of $2.76 billion, with federal taxpayers responsible for $1.4 billion. Part of the largest road construction program in Utah's state history, the proposed Legacy Highway would parallel most of I-15 which is currently being expanded as part of infrastructure preparation for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games to be hosted by Salt Lake City. This duplicative road would bisect countless acres of farmland, leaving them vulnerable to sprawl development. The proposed highway would also cut through a Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network Site that millions of shorebirds depend on for secure and pristine wetlands.
BACKGROUND
Legacy West Davis Highway, proposed by Governor Mike Leavitt, would be a 120-mile highway from Brigham City to Nephi, up the west side of Utah Lake, around the Great Salt Lake and finally connecting to I-15 at Brigham City. This route is the farthest west of the several alternatives presented for this area. Its purpose is to accommodate what the state has projected to be a doubling in traffic over the next twenty years.
STATUS
Utah's Department of Transportation (UDOT) released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) in October 1998. The Army Corps of Engineers is planning its own public comment period and hearing for the controversial wetlands permit. If UDOT secures either a wetlands permit or approval of its DEIS, opponents of the project may file a lawsuit against UDOT.
PROBLEMS WITH THE PROJECT
- Taxpayer Concerns
Building the Legacy Highway is a duplicative use of taxpayer money as it would parallel I-15, which is being expanded from six to twelve lanes as a part of infrastructure preparation for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City
- Local Community Concerns
An alliance of farmers and environmentalists opposed to the project say it would cause urban sprawl and damage surrounding farmlands. Legacy Highway would cut through five counties, dividing much of Utah's last 1.2 million acres of productive farmland. Many residents fear that the project would facilitate developing low-density subdivisions on the few remaining farms in these counties.
New roads tend to fill to congestion level, propelling a vicious cycle of highway construction. Therefore, mass transit options such as commuter rail, light rail, high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, and express buses may be more viable and cost-effective alternatives.
- Environmental Concerns
The highway would cut through wetlands internationally noted for their biological importance as a habitat and breeding site for three million ducks, 500 wintering American Bald Eagles, and 11 pairs of mating endangered Peregrine Falcons. As a Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network Site, millions of shorebirds also depend on these wetlands.
Utah, due to its surrounding mountain ranges, already has near-dangerous air quality levels. A highway in such close proximity to the mountains would exacerbate the region's air quality problems, according to Sierra Club.
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This year's Road to Ruin report identifies the 50 worst proposed new highway projects in 26 states. While the report's authors are not necessarily against all new roads, the roads named in the report would waste taxpayer money while hurting rural communities and small businesses, destroy farmland, diminish natural areas, and fuel sprawling development. The state of Michigan leads the list with five wasteful road projects, Pennsylvania and Virginia have four each, and California has three ill-conceived projects. If federal funding for all 50 proposed new roads was denied, it would save federal taxpayers $17 billion.
...There has been a colossal shift in public opinion on the building of new roads. Across the country, local communities are recognizing the impact of new road projects on their "quality of life" --- loss of open space and natural areas, increased sprawling development, and more traffic congestion and air pollution.
...In many cases state highway departments are pushing massive road projects over significant local objections, while communities try to fend off the loss of farmland, natural areas and the negative economic effects on businesses that these roads cause. In fact, there are common themes and battles being fought in communities throughout the country.
Taxpayers for COMMON $ENSE Friends of the Earth
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