It voted 6-5 to kill HB339 by Rep. Melissa Ballard, R-North Salt Lake, who worried the big rigs will increase pollution, lead to noise walls that will ruin views of the Great Salt Lake and essentially convert a country road into another Interstate 15. Her bill would have extended the current truck ban another five years.
The ban on trucks was part of a compromise 15 years ago between the state and environmental groups to end a lawsuit that had blocked construction of the 11.5-mile highway in Davis County.
Besides the truck ban, the deal imposed a 55 mph speed limit, allowed only two lanes in each direction and mandated rubberized pavement to dampen sound — all to protect adjacent wetlands and wildlife.