Speed limit going up on parkway north of Salt Lake City

The speed limit is going up on a four-lane parkway north of Salt Lake City.

Drivers can start traveling 65 mph on the 14-mile Legacy Parkway starting Jan. 1, up from 55 mph. The change was announced during the monthly meeting of the Utah Transportation Commission.

The Utah Department of Transportation said Friday that large semi-trucks also can start using the parkway that opened in 2008.

Utah lawmakers declined earlier this year to extend the Legacy Parkway Agreement that featured the truck ban and the 55-mph speed limit. The agreement ended a lawsuit between the state and environmental groups that had blocked construction of the roadway to protect wetlands and wildlife.

Transportation Department official Robert Miles says the agreement signed in 2015 had a sunset date of Jan. 1, 2020.

AP Only 2019