The settlement agreement, struck last year and approved by the Legislature and Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., came after four years of litigation and negotiations after Layton resident Ronald Decker, who uses a walker, sued the state in 2001 to cut curbs to allow smooth access to his street.

U.S. District Judge Dee Benson agreed the state had a responsibility under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure all citizens' safe access to sidewalks and roadways. Wednesday's order spells out the 2005 settlement.

One of the requirements says the state has until spring to identify where the ramps are needed. But the survey already is complete and work has begun, said UDOT deputy director Carlos Braceros. The state will spend about $1 million per year for the next 10 years to build ramps for people who use wheelchairs or have difficulty walking.

"We're getting a little head start but it's the right thing to do," Braceras said.

Decker took his complaint to the Disability Law Center, which found the problem was widespread enough to make it a class-action lawsuit, said Kerry Chlarson, the managing attorney for the nonprofit agency established to protect the rights of people with disabilities in Utah.

After Benson ruled that because the state received federal funds it had to observe the federal law, UDOT and the plaintiffs began negotiations.

UDOT's argument against building the ramps was based on its understanding of the law, which the agency interpreted as requiring new curb cuts after significant road projects. The work on Decker's street was a thin asphalt overlay considered routine maintenance, Braceras said.

But when the lawsuit "started going down a path that we recognized wasn't productive for either Mr. Decker or the state," the sides negotiated the settlement, Braceras said.

Now, any time there is a half-inch difference in the height of the road and the sidewalk, UDOT must flatten the curbs. State roads lined with sidewalks will have to be retrofitted with access ramps, and any new roads will include the ramps.

"We're just happy that now they're going to have curb ramps everywhere," Chlarson said.

The stipulation was scheduled for a final hearing on Oct. 29. UDOT will fix some as part of already scheduled construction projects. The rest will be grouped by geographic region. UDOT also will pay about $70,000 to the Disability Law Center for attorney's fees.