KAYSVILLE, Utah (ABC4) — Kaysville Police are reminding the public to stay out of work zones after 23 trespassing cases were reported at the West Davis Corridor in the last month alone. The West Davis Corridor is currently the largest Utah Department of Transportation project that aims to build a 16-mile, four-lane highway from Farmington to West Point in western Davis County.

Rex Harris, project director of the West Davis Corridor, further explains that people have been using walkways and trail systems that are not completed yet. There have been some vandalism cases as well, Harris added.

“We want everybody to be safe,” Harris said. “The problem that we find is, when you have a big open project like this, it may look like it’s fun to drive around on our embankment and fields and in the center medians, but it causes a lot of damage and rework to be done, and that cost money.”

He went on to say drivers have previously trespassed and left behind deep ruts in areas they have planned for vegetation, causing workers to put in extra hours to have them reworked. If an individual is caught causing damage to the active construction zone, Harris said they will be responsible for paying for the costs incurred.

To answer what kind of vehicles he’d seen trespassed on the construction zone, Harris said he had seen it all.

“We’ve seen everything,” he said. “Snowmobiles in the wintertime, mountain bikes, and we’ve actually seen kayaks in our ponds, paddling around in our detention areas.”

Not only is it costly to repair the damages, but Harris also said these trespassing cases do impact the project schedule as well. Additionally, trespassing puts pressure on the workers as they are already dealing with potentially dangerous equipment.

“We want to give them a safe work zone where they can focus on doing work,” Harris said. “It is very unsafe to have people out there when we have construction equipment working.”

According to Utah State Code, trespassing on the property may result in a class B misdemeanor charge.

Other than a new 4-lane highway, this $750 million UDOT project will also include a 10-mile trail connecting Emigration Trail and Legacy Parkway Trail. Drivers can expect to see freeway-style interchanges with on-and-off ramps at I-15, 950 North (Farmington), 200 North (Kaysville), 2700 West (Layton), 2000 West (Syracuse), and Antelope Drive (Syracuse).

“It would be a great benefit to relieving congestion on I-15,” Harris said.

Several road closures have been announced in connection with UDOT’s current largest project. Starting Monday, May 8, Antelope Drive will be closed nightly between 2500 West and 3000 West until Saturday, May 13. Southbound Legacy Parkway will be completely closed beginning Thursday, May 11, at 11:59 p.m. to Friday, May 12, at 4 a.m. For a complete list of closures, see UDOT’s website.

The West Davis Project is expected to wrap up and open to the public in the spring of 2024.