Hatch Champions Utah's Transportation Priorities In Highway Bill
Washington—As the Senate debates a proposal to provide a long-term extension to address shortfalls in the highway trust fund, Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, senior Republican in the United State Senate, is working to ensure Utah’s transportation priorities are part of the final package.
“In a state growing as quickly as Utah, with an expanding population and even-faster expanding business sector, transportation and infrastructure are crucial investments,” Hatch said. “Regrettably, the federal government has been unreliable at times in providing states the consistent, long-term funding they need to fix our nation’s highways, which has caused serious transportation problems in our state.”
Because of funding uncertainty, Utah legislators recently announced delays for at least 20, possibly as many as 25 major paving projects in our state. These are projects that would take pressure off of Utah’s most high-traffic transportation areas, improve access to tourism spots in Central and Southern Utah, and provide necessary fixes to Utah's more dangerous roadways.
The Senate’s bill, the DRIVE Act, is a six-year authorization.
“The DRIVE Act will provide increased funding for our nation’s highways and bridges without raising taxes or increasing the deficit. This legislation will give state and local leaders in Utah the certainty and stability they need to secure Utah’s roads and bridges for the families and businesses that use them every day.”
Senator Hatch’s Amendments
Senator Hatch proposed two amendments that will greatly benefit Utah, and have been included in the underlying bill.
See What Transportation Leaders In Utah Are Saying About Senator Hatch's Work For Utah
Carlos Braceras, Executive Director, Utah Department of Transportation
“We have worked closely with Senator Hatch and his staff to ensure that his approach and amendments to the Senate transportation bill take into account the most pressing needs facing the state transportation system. While there are many proposals and approaches to address transportation issues facing Utah and the rest of the country, we appreciate the Senator’s continued focus to increase the flexibility of federal funds apportioned to state and local leaders, and believe it will have the best long-term impact to improve the condition and safety of roads and bridges in our state and across the nation. I applaud his efforts to engage with us and to ensure that Utah’s transportation priorities are represented in this major national debate.”
Lane Beattie, President and CEO, Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce
"Senator Hatch, in his role as chairman of the Finance Committee, deserves our praise for his efforts to provide innovative solutions to the transportation problem our nation faces. Deterioration of our nation’s transportation system impedes economic performance by increasing transportation costs, slowing commerce and commuting and burdening an economy with future transportation investment needs. Our federal transportation program has served the nation well, and in particular, the Beehive State. Without Senator Hatch’s partnership, our state would have likely been unable to achieve the major transit and highway expansions of the last decade. I’m hopeful through his continued leadership Congress can pass a long-term transportation bill.”
Michael Allegra, President and CEO, Utah Transit Authority
“Utah’s innovative transportation and transit systems are vital to our booming business sector and growing population. Whether it be light-rail, commuter rail or buses, we have made tremendous strides in safety and efficiency for our community. Senator Hatch’s work to ensure stable federal funding over a more reliable period of time will help us continue to lead, bringing great businesses and jobs into Utah, and granting Utahns the best possible access to our state.”
Utah Transportation Facts
13%- Percentage of Utah’s major roads are in poor condition
$424– Cost of vehicle maintenance related to poor road conditions (per motorist)
220- Number of fatalities on Utah state highways in 2013
70- Transportation projects at risk in Utah without federal investment
What the DRIVE Act does for Utah
The DRIVE Act will provide long-term funding certainty, without which the state would not have access to $1 billion in federal funds. In the first 3 years of the DRIVE Act, Utah will receive $39,087,642 million in additional growth of the existing programs for freight alone. A long-term transportation funding bill will give Utah the ability to properly plan and prepare for up to 50 years. With a focus on innovation, Utah can better deploy technology to improve the state transportation network.
You can find out more about what the DRIVE Act does for Utah here.
The Full Text Of Senator Hatch’s Recorded Remarks, As Prepared For Delivery, Is Below:
The DRIVE Act: Fixing the Highway Trust Fund for Utah Families
While there is no “silver bullet” to fix all of the problems we face in our everyday lives, improving our roads and bridges will have a real, positive effect on life for Utahns.
Regrettably, the federal government has been unreliable at times in providing states the consistent, long-term funding they need to fix our nation’s highways. The uncertainty regarding federal funding for these programs has caused serious transportation problems in our state.
For example, because of funding uncertainty, Utah legislators recently announced delays for at least 25, possibly as many as 60 major paving projects in our state. These are projects that would take pressure off of Utah’s most high-traffic transportation areas, improve access to tourism spots in Central and Southern Utah, and provide necessary fixes to our more dangerous roadways.
To address these problems, the Senate began debate this week on the DRIVE Act— bill that will provide increased funding for our nation’s highways and bridges without raising taxes or increasing the deficit. This legislation will give state and local leaders in Utah the certainty and stability they need to secure Utah’s roads and bridges for the families and businesses that use them every day.
The DRIVE Act is about safety—33,561 Americans died in traffic accidents in 2012, and 1 in 3 of those accidents were a result of poor road conditions. According to TRIP, a national transportation research group, 13% of Utah’s roads are in poor condition. The DRIVE Act will improve our state’s road conditions, ultimately saving lives.
This DRIVE Act is also about Utahns’ bottom lines—the same TRIP study revealed that poor road conditions cost Utah families approximately $424 per motorist in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs.
The DRIVE Act is about spending more time with your family and less time on your commute—40% of Utah’s major urban highways are congested. Traffic congestion costs American motorists $121 billion a year in wasted time and fuel costs. In 2020, Americans will waste 8.4 billion hours sitting in traffic. We can improve this by providing stable federal funding for transportation improvements and giving the authority to govern the use of that money back to local leaders in Utah who know those roads best.
Whether it’s improving road conditions to save Utah families hundreds of dollars, or simply finding responsible ways to improve our roads and bridges, the DRIVE Act will have a profound, meaningful effect on our daily lives.
