After four years of delay, work on the Legacy Parkway will resume. But, trucks will be prohibited from using the scenic byway – until at least 2020.

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. signed a settlement agreement Monday, Nov. 14, between the state and conservation groups that had successfully sued to stop construction of the 14-mile road that is expected to run parallel to Interstate 15 and relieve congestion.

The conservation groups and Utah Department of Transportation reached an out-of-court settlement Oct. 31. It called for approval from legislators as well as a federal court.

The agreement has several provisions, including a ban on large truck traffic, billboards and roadway shoulders. The speed limit will be 55 mph. Restrictions on truck traffic along the parkway can be lifted when I-15 is shut down, in an emergency or for construction on I-15. The truck restrictions are scheduled to end in 2020.

State lawmakers previously approved the deal. Huntsman also signed a bill that bans trucks with five or more axles from the parkway.

Legislators approved both efforts last week in a special session.

By approving the settlement agreement, the state is now on pace to begin construction on the four-lane scenic route from Salt Lake City to Farmington by May and open by fall 2008, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

The Legacy Parkway was proposed in the late 1990s by then-Gov. Mike Leavitt as part of a 120-mile highway from Brigham City to Nephi.

It has been held up in court battles since late 2001. Construction was halted when the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals found fault with UDOT’s environmental impact study. The Sierra Club was joined by several other environmental groups in objecting to the highway’s proximity to and impact on the wetlands of the Great Salt Lake.

The current cost of the roadway is $680 million, about $200 million more than the original estimate.