From Deseret News archives:
UDOT study of how to finance corridor gets mixed reviews
The study was released Friday by the Utah Department of Transportation. Lawmakers reviewed the study during a meeting of the Transportation Interim Committee.
The study said that residents would need to pay for at least one-third of the cost of Mountain View — even if the proposed 40-mile freeway were built as a toll road.
Sen. Ed Mayne, D-West Valley, said the study caused him to question why the road should be considered as a toll road. Mayne represents residents who live in an area where the road could be built. Mountain View is proposed to run through western Salt Lake County into northwestern Utah County.
"If we have to pay for one-third of it, why should we toll it?" Mayne said. "Why not have it be a free freeway?"
But Rep. John Dougall, R-Highland, said the study was "amazingly good news" because of legislation approved Tuesday.
The Legislature passed a bill that could allow the state to pay for about $450 million in costs to purchase land for the road. By using the money to purchase land — and then tolling the road — the state could have a billion-dollar highway open to the public by 2009, Dougall said.
The bill allows counties to ask voters to approve a quarter-cent sales tax hike for transportation. At least a quarter of that money must go to preserve routes for future roads.
In total, Mountain View is estimated to cost $1.78 billion to build. If the state were to toll the road to finance construction, residents would still have to pay about $641 million in construction costs through options including a gas tax hike, sales tax increase, or higher registration fees, according to the study.
If the highway were leased to a private company to toll, the state would still have to cover about $502 million through other funding sources, the study said.
E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com
