Show Inflation Forces Road Work Costs To Soar For the big challenges in Utah's highway program have centered on new Construction on the interstate urban and access roads to recreation areas have had the But things have happened this year that have changed the entire emphasis of Utah's highway INFLATION has sent highway construction costs up a whopping 58 percent over the previous At the same the energy crisis has inspired Utah to reduce their gasoline which has resulted in a percent reduction in highway user This Utah highway officials are not so concerned about constructing new highways as they are about just maintaining the ones the state already Providing maintenance will be no easy because the state's highway maintenance program is also feeling the affects of a devastating rate of inflation that has exceeded all IN JUST the past asphalt for patching pot holes has gone up from a has doubled in equipment costs have gone up 55 Highway officials are being faced not only with a need for increased maintenance revenue for next fiscal but also a need for a supplemental appropriation to continue maintenance operations at their current level this The latter is posing some real problems because the Highway Department has no source from which funds can be MAINTENANCE comprises the biggest portion of the department's 53 million dollar budget proposed for fiscal The proposed budget calls for almost 21 million dollars for about seven and a half million more than the Department was appropriated this fiscal or about a 60 percent Jim the Utah Highway Department's Engineer for sad thing about the proposed increase is that it won't enable the Department to provide any more maintenance than it is now HE SAID the Department will only be able to continue the same level of maintenance on the state's highways that has been provided for the past five The biggest increase in the proposed maintenance budget for fiscal 1976 is for surface which consists mostly of pot hole patching and other repairs to paved THE DEPARTMENT is requesting more than double the appropriation for hard surface activities this fiscal principally because the price of patching asphalt has increased so Traffic services-such as lighting and lane painting-call for the second largest increase in the proposed maintenance The amount requested is 91 percent more than the Department received for traffic services for fiscal primarily because traffic paint has doubled in BECAUSE OF increased and equipment Highway Department officials have requested 36 percent more next fiscal year for repairs to bridges and drainage 40 percent more for weed control and landscape 62 percent more for gravel road and 36 percent more for litter pickup and rest stop Only a seven percent increase is requested for snow and ice removal next fiscal from long that it's cheaper to keep a road maintained than it is to rebuild Utah Highway Department officials are hoping that no curtailment in the current level of maintenance will be THEY point out that the Department has to operate soley from the highway user revenue it With lane miles of highway added to the State Highway System since last and with the cost of maintaining a lane mile projected to increase 37 percent next fiscal maintenance officials say the Department can't continue the current level of maintenance without increased |