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Show PAGE 8 THE ZEPHYR APRIL 1992 an interview with sam taylor of chairman, Utah Department Transportation Jim Stiles conducted an interview with Sam Taylor. The interview has been edited for clarity and length. we're seeing the truck traffic increase is a lack of port of entries. A truck can enter Utah on 191 at Mexican Water and exit the state at Delta, and never pass a scale. We have a major port of next three years, four miles west of Crescent JcL entry that is scheduled for construction in the It'll be state of the art facility that I think will change that considerably. Most of the trucks that are being stopped out there on our portable scales are overweight. Trucks cause tremendous , rutting problems on die highway. are a that lot of Grand in roads getting two attention, County Zephyr: Let me ask you about Book Cliffs road from Cisco to Hwy. 128 which follows the Colorado River and the proposed VemaL I attended a UDOT meeting that you chaired about a year ago that discussed highway has allocated about $45 million priorities in this district In your Priority One proposal UDOT kinds of improvements might those think do 128. When for renovation and repair of you happen? Zephyr: First, I'd like to ask you about the Transportation Commission, its function, your function, and whether it's an advisory, volunteer board or a paid position. Sam: It's probably the most powerful board in state government In fact it is considered as such by the legislature. It's the only state board or commission that is on full per diem and full retirement So it's a really powerful board. Zephyr: The decisions you make are binding and you determine the direction UDOT travels? with all Sam: That's right. We not only have hill responsibility for all are of kind includes what like even it to oversize vehicles, things that placed on signs respect lot a of federal so have we federal 75 80 to the highway. Of course, we operate with money, g authority, we have total responsibility for guidelines to follow. In addition to the federal and state fluids. funds. a of when That's $350,000,000 you year, programming So we do the whole program. Zephyr. How does that budget compare to education? Sam: I think it's second to social services, and I think they're both lagging behind education when you work in the local district financing In terms of state financing education is down there quite a ways. Zephyr What are the state of roads in Utah right now, and specifically in Grand County? Sam: We think they're not good and getting worse. But compared to other states, we're in much better shape than the other Western states. Zephyr Why is that? Sam: I think we've done a better job of staying on top of things. About six years ago, we adopted a pavement preservation policy. This means that you don't allow your system to deteriorate any mme than your ability to keep it fixed. We determined we were having a deterioration to the system of about 585,000,000 a year. We were only putting about $50 to If you can and $60,000,000 back into preservation a year. Things like catch a piece of highway when it first starts to break up, you can preserve its life considerably. seal can A chip-sejob for instance, can prolong a highway's life by three years. A plant-mi- x prolong a life about seven or eight years. Zephyr: When you look at your five year plan. How do expenditures versus revenues hold up? Sam: Our five year plan has to be tied to anticipated revenues. The five year plans are projects we'd like to see constructed, based on our priorities. The three year plan is when we actually get down to programming the month for advertising in a final design. There's an awful lot of situation. We have five flexibility in year four and five. Frankly, it's getting to be a state and one is called a of areas the commissioners, four of us represent geographic commissioner at large. My district is the eastern third of the state, from the Arizona border to rule-maki- policy-makin- g, policy-makin- co-min- crack-sealin- chip-sealin- g "When Grand and Uintah County appeared before our commission and made the pitch they made (regarding the Book Cliffs road), we could see half of a problem evaporating through local initiative. Mm, where will we get the money to pave it? I don't know." Sam Taylor g. Sam: Well, it'll happen when the priority rises and the priority is rising. The road is carrying increased loads of traffic; that's no surprise to anyone. Unfortunately, one of the factors that figures into the equation is the accident rate. Even though we have had some serious accidents on 128, they're not as serious as on other highways in the state that have a much higher priority. We're between a rock and a hard place, which is kind of a bad phrase to use when you talk about 128. To build a highway up the Colorado River from Moab that would qualify for federal participation, you'd have to build it to federal standards that would require a 40 foot width. The wide breakdown lanes would provide room for the bicycles. But we can't do that cm 128. Everything we do on 128 would have to be covered by a full environmental impact statement. It's physically impossible to build a 40 foot road along that river. Zephyr You're weighing the scenic values against the safety factors; which carries more al dog-eat-d- Wyoming. Zephyr: I've heard a lot of concerns expressed as to how the state will generate enough revenue to cover the state's future highway needs. Sam: There are numerous ways that can be done. We recently completed a highway called the Trapper's Loop. It goes from the Heber River Basin to the Ogden River Basin. That money was provided by the legislature three successive years from the general fund. A bulk of our revenue taxes. ..gasoline taxes, diesel fuel tax. Same from registrations. But comes from the highway-use-r each year now, we get some projects that are funded from the general fund. West Valley is a good example of that We've also dealt into the state's revolving fund program. Last year, we got $19 million; this year, we got $9 million. Those bonds are redeemed by general fund money, and by highway user funds. Zephyr: How much of the budget depends on federal funds? Sam: I would say 75. Zephyr With the economy in the state it's in right now, and especially with the national debt do you see a reduction in federal participation? Sam: We saw it this year already. Congress just passed a new five year service transportation act We're going to see funding on primary highways and interstate highways funded on a 7525 basis. Primary highways have been funded cm an 8515 basis before. The Interstates have been funded on a 9010. So we're going to see a greater need for state money for matching purposes than we have in the past and die legislature is not entirely unsympathetic to that They're not ' about to let any federal bucks get away. Zephyn What is the future of roads in Grand County? What are the priorities? Sam: Priorities? I don't think there is a major priority in Grand County right now. We have some high priority items in San Juan County, that we're beginning to address with the construction of seven or eight miles of highway in Blanding, north and south of it The highway between Blanding and Bluff has nearly been lost, mainly because of heavy trucking from the uranium mines in the Grand Canyon area. The traffic has increased dramatically as well. One reason, which has surprised us all is that ever since US 191 was given that designation all the way from the Mexican border to Canada, we've seen a tremendous increase, particularly truck traffic It was our intent to increase traffic with the designation, but not the truck traffic One of die reasons 1 really than wish lists, are they? . Sam: That's right. That's all they are. We have high priority needs that can't even find themselves worked into a five year plan. And that total list is over a billion dollars. We're not talking about roads that would be nice to have; these are roads that we critically need. Zephyr Is the Book Cliffs road a road that would be nice to have or is that a road that we critically need? Sam: According to our planning consultants yes. The Book Qiffa road concept did not originate with UDOT. It's been a dream far a lot of people far three decades. Three or four years ago, we hired a nationally recognized firm called Wilbur Smith & Associates. We asked them to do a functional classification study of the state of Utah. And, Id and behold, when the stuidy came through, there was 191, straightening out the dogleg that goes over to Price and fWloHale and up Indian Canyon. That study had sound logic for saying that here is a part of rural Utah's infrastructure that's missing and needs to be there. . . . NEEDLES OUTPOST 259-203- 2 259-854- 5 Canyonlands National Park - Needles District Located 34 miles west on Hwy 21. 1 CwlV BURGERS WITHIN 75 MILES THE-BES- weight? Sam: The safety factors da Zephyr So are you saying that someday there will be a 40 foot highway on 128? Sam: No, I'm saying that to get federal participation, it would have to be. If we use state money, we can do anything we want on it. Zephyr Right But you're saying there isn't that kind of state money. Sam: No. In feel our limitations on pure state dollars right now are such that I can see the time if we don't get some legislative relief, that every state produced dollar will be used to match federal funds. So you can see where the money is going to be spent What we're trying to do with 128 right now is identify what we consider to be the worst spots. And we're trying to fix that with class 1 maintenance funds, utilizing our local crews as much as possible. And we're doing some contract maintenance work too. Two areas that we want to take care of are Salt Wash HiU, with that hairpin curve, and the narrows above White's Ranch where you have the shale overhang. That's going to be a difficult choke too, because it's going to be tough to cut that vertical rock back. Zephyr When you have these Priority One lists and five year plains they're nothing more T . Gas - propane Camping partial hookups 4x4 rentals Scenic flights Maps books information n General store - snack bar Ice - cold beer - pop Showers firewood Jeep tours by reservation |