Huntsman OKs bonding for $2.2 billion in transportation projects

TAYLORSVILLE — Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. ceremoniously signed a pair of bills Tuesday that will allow for $2.2 billion in bonding for state transportation projects over the next four years.

The passage of SB239 and compromise legislation HB185 was finalized with a pen swoop within a crowded tractor garage at the Utah Department of Transportation Offices.

The black ballpoint signature paved the way, metaphorically, for I-15 additions and reconstruction in Utah County, from American Fork to Provo's Center Street.

The $1.725 billion I-15 CORE project will create about 60,375 jobs over four years, according to UDOT. Construction is expected to start in spring 2010. Bids will go out immediately for design work.

The project will add two lanes in each direction and will extend HOV lanes, said project director Dal Hawks. It has been under way since 2005.

The road construction approved Tuesday will "maintain that competitive edge when it comes to mobility," Huntsman said.

The I-15 expansion will be similar in size and scope to the reconstruction that took place a decade ago in preparation for the 2002 Olympics, Hawks said.

Other projects that will receive state bond money include the Mountain View Corridor, the Southern Parkway in St. George and Riverdale Road in Weber County.

The new construction is possible, in part, because SB239 increased vehicle registration fees by about $20 per vehicle.

In the shadow of white lift trucks and yellow front-end loaders, the governor also signed contracts Tuesday for 16 federally funded projects. Construction could begin in as soon as 10 days, said UDOT spokesman Nile Easton.

The federal projects stretch from Weber County south to Washington County and include Redwood Road in Taylorsville, I-215 in Cottonwood Canyon, 8400 West and Parleys Canyon. Their cost is budgeted to total $153 million.

One of those projects was awarded to Sunroc contractor Kay J. Christofferson, who will be improving three intersections in the Provo area.

"We're glad to be back to work," said Christofferson, whose company is also involved in projects at BYU and in the Lindon/Pleasant Grove area. "Right now, it comes at a good time. Regular work is slowing, and government work is the strongest."

The intersection work alone will employ around 25 men and women, the contractor said.

E-MAIL: rpalmer@desnews.com

For a complete list of Utah projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, visit www.udot.utah.gov