Utahns give green light to bonding
61% in favor of borrowing billions for road projects
A survey for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV shows that 61 percent of Utah residents favor the state's being able to "borrow" for billions for road projects. A total of 34 percent of residents were opposed.
The statewide survey of 418 people was done by Dan Jones & Associates. It was conducted March 7-8 and had a margin of error of 5 percent. Dan Jones has done surveys in the past for the Utah Department of Transportation.
Rep. John Dougall, R-Highland, helped pass two bills to authorize the state to bond for over $1 billion. One bill, HB314, allows the state to issue up to $1 billion in bonds for road improvements across the state. The second bill, HB158, allows the state to issue $100 million in bonds to buy land for the Mountain View Corridor.
Dougall said Monday that the poll results weren't surprising, considering current levels of road congestion and the need for new highways and transit across the state. Utah has from $16 billion to $20 billion worth of road projects that need to be built, according to state transportation planners.
Under the legislation that authorized the $1 billion bond, UDOT must present a list of projects to the Legislature that it feels are worthy to be funded by the bond. Those projects can be located throughout the state, but consideration must be given to roads in Utah County that will serve as alternative routes during reconstruction of Interstate 15.
No funding exists to reconstruct the road, but planners have said they want work to begin by 2011.
With the $100 million bond, state leaders hope to be able to buy most of the land needed to build the Mountain View Corridor in Salt Lake County. But like I-15, no funding exists to build the estimated $2 billion road that would run along the west side of Salt Lake and Utah counties. UDOT is currently preparing a study of the environmental impacts of the road and whether it should be built as a toll road.
The study, known as an environmental impact statement, is scheduled to be finished sometime next year.
Sen. Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, said Monday that he believes the state took a positive step this session by authorizing the issuance of bonds.
"If you bond for something, transportation is one of the best places that you can bond," he said. "That's primarily because number one, you'll see returns through economic growth, and probably even more importantly, the money that you spend by and large stays in the local economy."
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