Deseret News – July 10, 2021
For several months now, I have been working with a group of colleagues to see if we could reach agreement on a bipartisan path forward. It was pretty clear that if the Democrats wrote their own partisan bill, Utah would end up with the short end of the stick.
As a result of our group’s work, Senate Republicans and Democrats have agreed on a proposal that is strictly limited to physical infrastructure. It does not raise taxes. It spends less than one-third of the president’s original plan. And because it is largely comprised of legislation that has already gone through the traditional legislative process with bipartisan support in the committees of jurisdiction, it is truly bipartisan.
It is estimated that 62 bridges and more than 2,064 miles of highway in Utah are in poor condition. Under our plan, Utah would receive substantial funding to repair these deteriorating roads, bridges and highways. Right now, Utahns are forced to use only surface streets to make the commute from Salt Lake City to the west side of the valley because there isn’t highway infrastructure in place. In addition to funding for necessary repairs, Utah would also receive funding to expand our infrastructure so we can keep up with our rapid growth