From Deseret News archives:
No toll lanes on I-15 — for now
Congestion isn't bad enough, UDOT says
After a four-month study of feasibility and need, Utah Department of Transportation officials said Friday that "high-occupancy toll" lanes should not be implemented on I-15, at least for now.
"We think they will play a role in the future, but as far as right now, the congestion isn't bad enough," said UDOT spokesman Tom Hudachko. "The time savings involved is not quite worth it. I don't think people will think it's worth paying for the minimal advantage they would receive."
With a high-occupancy toll lane, or HOT lane, a motorist can buy the right to drive in a carpool lane without a passenger. In the 2005 legislative session, lawmakers gave authority to the state Transportation Commission to study and establish tolling facilities in Utah.
The I-15 HOT lane study began in June. The study area was 36 miles long, from 600 North in Salt Lake City to University Parkway in Orem. The study showed that only five minutes in travel time would be saved if HOT lanes were implemented along the 36-mile area.
In other areas with active HOT lanes, travel time saved is much greater, according to Hudachko. In Houston, drivers can save 20 minutes by paying to use a 13-mile HOT lane, he said.
"The good news is, we're not quite as congested as they are," said Hudachko. "The bad news is, we probably will be in the future."
No time frame has been given for further study of HOT lanes potential on I-15.
Lawmakers, however, are aggressively studying whether the state can partner with private companies to build toll roads. In early September, 14 lawmakers and Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert traveled to Austin, Texas, to see how that city has partnered with private groups to build toll roads.
Sen. Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, has opened a bill file that would authorize Utah to do the same. By partnering with a private company, roads could be built within years, not decades, Killpack said. The state currently has a $7 billion funding deficit for road and transit projects needed over the next 10 years.
"As people begin to understand more and more that the gas tax is not funding transportation and understand the demands out there, I think it makes more and more sense that we're going to have to diversify how we go about funding transportation," Killpack said.
UDOT is currently studying whether the Mountain View Corridor could be a toll road. Mountain View is a proposed highway that would stretch from western Salt Lake County into Utah County.
"As you know, we have been looking at toll roads and doing studies," said Killpack. "HOT lanes are a possibility within that, but more specifically, we're looking at the Mountain View Corridor as a toll road, which could involve the private sector. If they're willing to come in and invest, it could be built literally decades before the state could fund it."
E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com
