Newly formed Oquirrh Alliance lobbies for spending on roads

A group of prominent businessmen and women, and a former Utah governor, have formed the Oquirrh Alliance to lobby for more spending on roads, and other growth-related issues.

The group, which is chaired by former Gov. Norman Bangerter, held a press conference Thursday to call on lawmakers to pass two bills that would help fund the Mountain View Corridor, and general transportation projects. The group also wants the Legislature to ask the Utah Department of Transportation to create a finance plan for building Mountain View.

The Mountain View Corridor is a proposed highway that would run from I-80 in northwest Salt Lake County into Utah County. UDOT officials say that building the $2 billion highway as a toll road will pay for at least two-thirds of the cost.

One of the bills the Oquirrh Alliance is pushing for, HB158, would earmark about $34 million in Salt Lake County tax dollars to finance a $300 million bond to buy land for the highway. The sponsor, Rep. Wayne Harper, R-West Jordan, has also said purchasing the land soon could lower the future cost of the project and avoid the toll-road option, which many west Salt Lake County residents oppose.

"We support solutions," Bangerter said. "Economic development is a major factor in all our lives.

Other members of the Oquirrh Alliance include Scott Anderson, president of Zions Bank; Larry Miller, owner of the Utah Jazz; Vicki Varela with Kennecott Land; Don Wallace with Sorenson Development; and Lane Beattie, president of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce.

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com