Lawmakers agreed Tuesday to abandon a controversial plan calling for the transfer of up to 500 miles of state roads to local control.

Instead, legislation will be drafted that creates a process for annual reviews of potential road transfers — something that state and local officials already do on an as-needed basis. The legislation would just mandate the process in state law.

Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Cottonwood Heights, said lawmakers agreed to abandon plans because of a realization that state roads couldn't be shifted "wholesale" to local governments. Each road and each community have different needs, she said, and those needs should be considered on an individual basis.

"It is not my intention to force this down anyone's throat," she said.

Local government representatives said they were relieved by the outcome of Tuesday's Highway Jurisdictional Transfer Task Force meeting. A top concern was that local governments would be given roads without any additional funding or consideration of ability to maintain the road.

In Washington County, the city of Leeds has only four items it could use to maintain a road, according to Gloria Parnell of the Leeds Town Council. In a letter to the League of Cities and Towns, she writes: "There is no doubt that Leeds is growing. . . . At this time I feel the town of Leeds does not have the means to take on such a transfer. It would be a huge burden for the town."

Leeds' "road maintenance" equipment includes one weed eater, one weed sprayer, one used truck and one riding lawn mower.

"There are so many unique circumstances with each individual road segment," said Lincoln Shurtz with the League of Cities and Towns. "As we've gone through this process, I don't know how doable it is (to transfer roads) at this point."

Walker is drafting the legislation that calls for mandated discussions each year about road transfers. The legislation may require the Utah Department of Transportation to submit an annual report about potential transfers to the legislative Transportation Interim Committee.

During the next meeting of the Highway Jurisdictional Transfer Task Force, lawmakers will receive an update about the history of how city and county roads are funded. They will likely discuss possible changes to the funding formula for local roads.

The next task force meeting is scheduled for Aug. 30 at 9 a.m.

---

E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com