• Extension of the Utah Transit Authority's TRAX light-rail system in Salt Lake County.

Six other speakers, including current Utah Senate president John Valentine, R-Orem, supported Beattie's belief that transportation issues should be paramount in the minds of Utahns and their leaders.

Opinion pollster Dan Jones presented survey evidence that Utahns recognize transportation as a critical matter.

"Transportation was one of the top issues in the 1990s, then it fell out and now it's back as number four," Jones said of poll results.

Beattie, however, argued the interest is even higher since Utahns also consider the economy to be the second-most important issue along with taxes. The economy's success is dependent upon investment in transportation infrastructure, he said.

"If we don't do something, we're looking at a different kind of future than any of us want to have," said Utah Power executive vice president Rich Walje. "I don't want to overstate it, but it looks a little bit like a catastrophe waiting to happen if we don't do something about it today."

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E-mail: zman@desnews.com