State Roads Budget Shortfall Means Project Delays

with special thanks to The Salt Lake Tribune for reprint permission from State Roads Budget is $30 Million Short article by John Keahey, The Salt Lake Tribune (May 15, 1999)

from On the Move, Summer (June) Quarter 1999, Volume 12, Number 2

The state highway fund is almost $30 million short, and some road projects planned for the next fiscal year will be put on hold. State lawmakers in February found out that the highway fund...could be short for the year that begins July 1.

Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) officials confirmed the bad news to the Joint Transportation Interim Committee in May. "We are still short the money. We will have to cut back projects planned for fiscal year 2000," says Clint Topham, UDOT's deputy executive director. Lawmakers already know which projects likely will be postponed. That list was circulated during the legislative session. The big-ticket item expected to be set back is the projected $9 million rebuilding and widening of SR-6 from I-15 to the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon in Utah County. In all, $19 million in new projects around the state could be postponed.

In addition, UDOT plans to cut $11 million from its highway-preservation program for FY 2000. It includes resurfacing and other types of projects designed to keep roads in good shape. It does not include cuts in funds for routine maintenance, such as refilling potholes, says Topham. Linda Toy Hull, UDOT program-development director, said some federal funds may become available, and part of those could be used to do some partial work on the list's nine endangered projects.

A number of factors contributed to the shortfall:

• Utah is scheduled to get more federal money to use on projects necessary to serve the 2002 Winter Olympics. But those funds must be matched. They come out of the transportation fund without being replaced. The impact against non-Olympic road projects is approximately $10 mill.
• State fuel-tax collections are expected to be $14 million short. Some of the problem centers on the fact that truckers over-reported their purchases last year and are due for unanticipated refunds. As for why collections are down overall, UDOT and state Tax Commission officials still don't know why, Topham says.
• The 1999 Legislature poured money from the transportation fund into a 10-year road-building program known as the Centennial Highway Fund. That money was based on projected fee and tax collections. When they fall short, the Centennial Fund still gets the money, but there is nothing to replenish the transportation fund. This shortfall could cost the state $3-4 million.
• When new roads are opened (i.e. the Bangerter Highway in southwest Salt Lake County), maintenance costs increase, including such services as snow removal. UDOT does not get additional money to account for those additional costs, Topham says. This is expected to total an additional $2-3 million during FY 2000.

"If we haven't got the money, we can't do the work," says Topham.