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Show BUILD VCK'O FUTUCE IN UTAH VALLf Y ' I GUV, Inc. Writer Elaborates on Talk Made by Road Official at Club' Meet Had dinner with the Springville Kiwania the other evening, as the uiest of Sterling Price. As I Hft the Chicken Roost after af-ter Ue meeting it was necessary to cross Highw ay 91 in order to proceed north. Although it was around 8:30 in the evening, I had to sit in my car for some 15 minutes min-utes before a break in the north ami south traffic safari made the crossing possible. This incident, so common to all who navigate Utah's crowded thoroughfares, emphasizes the statement made by the Club's guest speaker, that "Utah's highway high-way problem grows more acute with each passing hour." Chairman David H. Whittenburg of the State Road Commission called the attention of the club members to the magnitude and complexity of maintaining the 529 miles of the State's primary highways. high-ways. With the sharp increase in the cost of labor and materials, and the ever-increasing use of the roads, the State and Federal funds now available for improvement and maintenance are far short of the necessary amount, the present time 50 million dollars the presen time 50 million dollars are needed to modernize our primary pri-mary highyays, with only 10 million mil-lion available. In order to provide more adequate ade-quate financing of our highways, the State Road Chairman recommends recom-mends the selling of Road Improvement Im-provement bonds to the amount of 35 million dollars. According to the proposed plan, the same could be retired by allocating 1 cent of the present 5 cent State gasolene tax, and" the 2 cent federal gasolene tax for this purpose. At the present time, Utah receives re-ceives only 72 percent of the 2 cent federal gasolene tax collected within the State. Certainly it would not cost 28 cents on each dollar of tax money if we collected and administered the same. With such a plan, it would be possible to build the proposed express ex-press highway through Salt Lake and Utah Valleys, and thus relieve the growing congestion on Highway High-way 91. Greater Utah Valley, Inc. believes be-lieves that the plan of Chairman Whittenburg has merit; it and other plans that may be proposed should be studied from every possible pos-sible angle. There is no doubt that something some-thing will have to be done, and soon, to bring our over-crowded and out-moded primary highways to near standard. Nothing will be gained by passing the buck or delaying de-laying the. program. The .necessity is urgent. |