Utah Legislature: State may delay road projects to save money

SALT LAKE CITY (Deseret News) — That road construction project in your town? You may not see shovels digging in any time soon.

A handful of road projects could be delayed to save the state about $100 million. Most of the projects on the list are street widening or bridges to better accommodate traffic near railroads. Most are along the Wasatch Front, including $37.5 million in Utah County.

But members of GOP leadership, which is negotiating with the governor to balance the state's budget, are opposed to any road funding cuts.

"We need road construction," Sen. Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, said. "There are congestion and problem areas that need to be addressed. And going ahead with those projects will help relieve that."

During the back-and-forth negotiations to balance the state budget, Gov. Gary Herbert obtained from the Utah Department of Transportation a list of about 20 projects that are not under contract with construction companies and could be delayed. That list was winnowed down and on Friday, there were seven projects totaling $79.5 million.

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