Rural Utah gets most of extra road funding

MIDWAY — Friday was a good day for all those rural Utah lawmakers and residents who have complained in recent years that the bulk of state transportation money goes to projects in the Salt Lake Valley.

"Salt Lake at the expense of everywhere else" has been a favorite criticism from the rest of the state since the creation of the Centennial Highway Fund and the 1997 start of the $1.59 billion I-15 reconstruction project.

But Friday, Salt Lake Valley got the short end of the dipstick when the Utah Transportation Commission divided up $7 million in "new" money for road projects.

Only $650,000 of that amount will be spent in UDOT's region 2, which includes Salt Lake County. That money will be used for a paving project on the far west side of the valley — on 8400 West, between 3500 South and 5400 South.

The rest of the $7 million will be split up fairly evenly among the other three regions of the state. The largest single amount, $1.9 million, will be used for a paving project on U-10 between Fremont Junction (I-70) and Emery.

The $7 million comes from money UDOT will save — $2 million in 2004 and $5 million in 2005 — primarily because it eliminated 98 full-time positions through a self-imposed hiring freeze that began in February of this year.

"I think there are some opportunities for us to do some really good things across the state as a result of these efficiencies in the department," UDOT executive director John Njord told the commission, which held its monthly meeting in the Midway Town Hall.

Njord and his staff gave the commission a list of 16 projects, between three and five per region, that could use additional funds. Ultimately, the commission approved funding for seven of those projects — ones Njord identified as most urgent.

Two of the seven projects are new, meaning they have not gone through the lengthy process of being placed on the five-year Statewide Transportation Improvement Program or other long-range plans.

But Njord and commission chairman Glen Brown said that while that may be frustrating for some communities whose projects have been in line for a long time, it shows an ability on UDOT's part to respond to urgent needs and take advantage of opportunities.

"You can't keep things so locked in concrete that you can't be flexible," Brown said. "The dynamics change so quickly on us and we have to be able to respond."