Fillmore • For months, local leaders throughout Utah have lobbied and jockeyed for part of an extra $100 million that the Legislature made available this year to improve traffic in “recreational hot spots.”
The Utah Transportation Commission on Friday proposed four likely winners for that big pot of money, although it is allowing public comment for a month.
The commission is recommending that the money be split among Little Cottonwood Canyon in Salt Lake County, Moab/Arches National Park, St. George/Zion National Park and the Bear Lake/Garden City areas.
The decision created a long list of probable losers where projects had been evaluated, but did not score well enough to make the final proposed cut.
Among those are places such as American Fork Canyon, Logan Canyon, Ogden Canyon, Powder Mountain, scenic State Road 12 near Bryce Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Lake Powell, Brian Head and Joe’s Valley Reservoir.
The $100 million comes from a bill the Legislature passed this year to borrow $1 billion over four years to accelerate highway projects statewide.
Lawmakers set aside $100 million for projects that have a “significant economic impact associated with recreation and tourism,” and would help remedy significant congestion. They assigned the transportation commission to decide where to spend it.
The commission ranked projects based on congestion (67 percent of possible points), potential to improve economic development (18 percent) and increased recreation (15 percent).
The Utah Department of Transportation conducted the prioritization studies, and made recommendations to the commission on Friday. The commission, in a meeting in Fillmore, then set up a month-long period to accept public comment.
Part of that proposal would include spending $2 million to start environmental studies needed for work in Little Cottonwood Canyon, and money for further evaluation of other projects, including $150,000 for the Zion/St. George area, $300,000 for Arches/Moab and $150,000 for Bear Lake/Garden City.
“There’s still a lot of money on the table folks,” commissioner Dannie McConkie said, addressing a chamber packed full of officials and lobbyists still hoping for a slice of the money. “This [proposal] is to analyze where to use it best.”
Commissioner Meg Holbrook said the commission still has an open mind, and may make changes based on public comment.
Some officials used the meeting’s public comment period on Friday to get in some more lobbying.
Morgan County Council member Tina Morgan lamented that her area wasn’t chosen as a finalist. “We’re kind of used to not be chosen. It’s OK,” but argued that her small county needs help to handle growth and recreation.
Members of the Washington County Commission pushed for reconsideration to add money for a project called the northern corridor around St. George, which wasn’t on the recommended list.
Moab City Manager David Everitt expressed “our ecstatic excitement” at proposals to include his city for a slice of the $100 million.
Springdale Mayor Stan Smith reminded the commission his city is willing to provide local money to help match state funds to fix roads and congestion around neighboring Zion National Park, and thanked commissioners for proposing his area to share in the money.
Zion National Park Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh also said the park service is making investments to help reduce congestion. He noted annual visitation at Zion has quadrupled from 1.1 million in 1980 to 4.3 million in 2016.
He noted that park shuttles now “carry more people than transit systems in fairly large cities.”