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Show Causeway hope refloated Daws County offers to refurbish Antelope Islond road the public. If the island was accessible, ac-cessible, tourists may say Let's spend another day in Utah " Stevenson said. He added that records indicate there were 450,000 visitors to the island in 1982, the last year it could be reached via the causeway. It is this fact which may get the project the governor's blessing. 'The project has a lot of appeal, and the governor would like to see it built," said Bangerter's chief of staff Bud Scruggs. The fact the project pro-ject would generate revenue from a $1 to $2 toll assessed per vehicle differentiates it from other already prioritized projects, he added. SEE ISLAND ON A-2 By JUDY JENSEN Asst Managing Editor SALT LAKE CITY Do-it-yourself Davis County officials may have paved the way to rebuilding the causeway to Antelope Island in a meeting with Gov. Norm Bangerter. In a united coalition, county commissioners, senators and representatives, rep-resentatives, during a meeting with the governor on Wednesday, presented a plan for the county to build and maintain a road to the island. Under the proposal, the state would appropriate $4.8 million to be used by the county to restore the causeway during the upcoming special session of the Legislature. A total of $85 million is available for bonding such projects, and the governor has suggested $20 million of that total be spent on road projects. pro-jects. "We have 190,000 people in Davis County who deserve their piece of the pie,' ' said county commission chairman Gayle Stevenson. "We'd like to be part of that bonding package." The $4.8 million proposal is well below the $18 million total projected pro-jected for the project by the Utah Department of Transportation, (UDOT). The county proposal would build the causeway at an elevation of 4,208 feet compared to UDOT's recommended 4,217. "We feel 4,208 is a good gamble. The lake has not risen above that level for years, and we have the pumps to control it now," said Stevenson. The causeway was washed our during the floods of 1983. It was at a 4,206 foot elevation at that time. The county plan is to rebuild the washed-out sections and build a two-lane, 26-foot-wide, paved road on the surface of the causeway. A bridge would also be built at an elevation of 4,220 feet to allow boat passage. "This project would benefit the entire state. The island is a national attraction which shouldn't be lost to Wednesday's meeting, Bangerter has ordered Gene Findlay of UDOT to contact the county for additional information regarding the project. "He (Bangerter) thinks it's something that's needed, but there are still some engineering questions that need to be answered," Jones said. The special session is scheduled to convene April 17. "Until then, we'll continue to do what we can to represent our county in this effort," Beattie said. Island CONTINUED FROM A-l UDOT has already suggested several projects for approval including in-cluding the West Valley Highway, redesign of roads in Provo Canyon, and redesign of U.S. Highway 89 near Lagoon. Funding for those projects pro-jects would exceed the $20 million road fund. "The governor typically supports UDOT priorities, but the Legislature is not bound by them. I've seen other non -prioritized projects pro-jects approved," Scruggs said. Sen. Lane Beattie, R-Bountiful, said he feels the "combined support of the coalition that met with Bangerter" may be the key to getting get-ting the governor to "take a proactive pro-active approach" in getting the project pro-ject approved. "If the county could become the owner of the road, it would eliminate elim-inate federal restrictions which are very costly," Beattie said. He added add-ed tolls from the road would be deposited de-posited in a dedicated fund to maintain main-tain the road. Special assistant to the governor, Mark Jones, said as a result of |