Utah Transportation Commission
November 10, 2005
Provo, Utah

The regular meeting of the Utah Transportation Commission, held in the Utah County Commission Chambers, 100 East Center Street, Provo, Utah, was called to order at 1:33 p.m. by Chairman Glen E. Brown. He introduced the Commission and welcomed those attending. Commissioner Lewis was excused from the meeting.

Approval of Minutes
Commissioner Bodily moved to approve the minutes of the October 21, 2005, Commission meeting held in Blanding, Utah. Commissioner Millington seconded the motion and the minutes were approved.

Chairman Brown said the minutes of September 23, 2005, needed to be reconsidered. Commissioner Warnick moved to reconsider the minutes of the September 23, 2005,Commission meeting held in Tooele, Utah. Commissioner Wells seconded the motion and the minutes were opened for reconsideration. It was noted that on page three, second paragraph, line 5, the amount listed as $82 million should be changed to $18 million. Commissioner Warnick moved to approve the September 23, 2005, minutes as corrected. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Wells and approved.

Local Area Presentation by Region Three
Chairman Brown turned the time over to Commissioner Millington for introductions of local elected and other officials, and for the local area presentation by Region Three. Dave Nazare, Region Three Director, gave a report on ongoing and upcoming construction and pavement projects, upcoming signal projects, and a couple of environmental studies in progress. Merrell Jolley from Region Three reviewed the I-15: Utah County EIS in detail. Commissioner Millington turned the time back to Chairman Brown.

Public Comments
Mayor Fritz Boyer of Springville discussed north/south access through Springville, which he feels is very restrictive. He said the growth of Mapleton is having an affect on SR-77. Possible reconstruction of the Spanish Fork interchange could provide another route into Mapleton. SR-77 needs to be looked at carefully in terms of its potential impact in the future, or it ultimately will become a transportation problem.

Mayor Tim Parker of Saratoga Springs discussed SR-68, a major artery through their city. They are in need of doing what they can to expedite improving that road. He also suggested looking at some kind of road that takes traffic from the I-15 corridor to west of the lake, through Cedar Valley, for traffic that would otherwise bypass Utah Valley, heading to points further south. Mr. Nazare noted that some earmark money was just approved for SR-68 and they are trying to work out what exactly they can do with those funds and how they are going to approach a project there. They’re looking at doing an environmental assessment, which will take about two years.

Vincent Liddiard, Eagle Mountain Council, discussed SR-73, which ties into SR-68. Their city has mainly one point of access for both Utah County and Salt Lake City, and is a growing area of concern for transportation. Most of their residents work in Salt Lake County and take SR-68 to get there, but they do most of their shopping in Utah County. Their prime concern is having an east/west corridor through northern Utah County, but they are also concerned about a north/south corridor through western Utah County. The Cedar Valley area in western Utah County currently has a lot of opportunity for planning, and they would love to help encourage that. They would also especially like to see the widening of SR-68 through Saratoga Springs, as that’s a corridor that Eagle Mountain uses as well.

Chairman Brown said they are aware of the needs in northern Utah County, as well as in all of Utah County, and considerable efforts are being made by way of planning and development. They are equally frustrated with the long time frame it takes to secure proper permits and do all the design and development for something to actually happen, but they are doing their best to alleviate the transportation problems.

Mayor Jerry Washburn of Orem City discussed SR-89 and the Pleasant Grove railroad bridge, and asked that strong consideration be given in making sure that the bridge is able to accommodate a future light rail route. As for the 8th North project, which is scheduled for completion to the 10th East area, he’s concerned that if funding constraints become acute, there may be some temptation to reduce the length of the project and he would strongly encourage the Department to not consider that as an alterative. Rather, find additional funding by partnering with the Legislature. His final issue is with the I-15 EIS alternatives. One additional alternative needs to be considered, and that is a combination of alternatives four and five, not just an either/or decision between commuter rail and bus rapid transit.

Mayor Lewis Billings of Provo City expressed appreciation for the air tower at the Provo Airport. He discussed the high priority of the improvements needed on I-15 and said they are anxious to give input during the EIS process on what needs to happen to the alignment of Center Street at I-15. He also discussed improvements needed on Geneva Road, the earmarked funds received from SAFETEA-LU for a Provo Airport west side connector, the need for replacement of the University Avenue viaduct that goes over the railroad, and traffic signal coordination. He also mentioned their concerns about the north/south capacity of the I-15 corridor, and suggested they start looking at a possible secondary corridor in Utah County. Chairman Brown expressed his concerns about the earmarking process and the affect is has.

Dave Knecht, Provo City Council, briefly discussed a potential development on the west side with very limited access. He told them it was premature to approve what they were asking for because of infrastructure problems, and now the developer is suing them. Mr. Knecht noted that the Harper/Curtis bill would take away the prerogative of cities to turn down proposals, unless they somehow harm the public’s health, safety and welfare. It reverses their current zoning practices where they expect a developer to show how they’re going to benefit the community.

Tim Taylor, Saratoga Spring City Council, asked about the carpool lane being put in on I-15 from the Point of the Mountain south, and if it was really going to alleviate congestion. Director John Njord remarked that if it were built as a general-purpose lane, it would fill up in a matter of about four years and be at the same congestion level as today. However, if it’s kept as a carpool lane, they can improve the level of service on I-15 for about eight years. Mr. Taylor said in other cities, there are certain time frames for the carpool lane in the mornings and afternoons; the rest of the time it become a general-purpose lane. Director Njord said that is something they could do additional analysis on.

Representative John Dougall said the key to how transportation is approached is obvious. A system has been created in which cities cannot control their own destiny, so they have to go to the state or the feds to try and fund their projects. That needs to be changed. Cities need to be able to manage their own destiny and things need to evolve closer to the local level for projects, unless they have significance to the entire state. But lots of those other roads are really local roads and are not significant state facilities. Representative Dougall remarked that the federal highway bill is a travesty. The earmarks in it are a disaster, and he believes the federal government is destroying the transportation system as a result. Perhaps legislation ought to be considered that says if any locality solicits funds from the feds, they will lose funds from the state in return.

Project Prioritization Process
Ahmad Jaber, Program Development Director, said this process has been developed over the last year and has been presented to the Commission at different meetings. Recommendations were also presented to the Interim Committee in September and October. They are now at the point in the process where the recommendation is for the Commission to approve this rule to proceed with the formal rulemaking process. It will then come back to the Commission for their final approval following the 30-day public process.

Commissioner Warnick made a motion to send the Administrative Rule through the rulemaking process. It was seconded by Commissioner Bodily and approved.

Planning and Programming
2006-2010 STIP Amendment #2
Max Ditlevsen, Program Finance Director, referred to the exhibit in the Commission’s binders showing Wasatch Front Regional Council’s (WFRC) TIP Amendment #1, and said it is a listing of the high priority and transportation improvement projects that were earmarked from the SAFETEA-LU bill. He pointed out the amendment for the noise walls along Bangerter Highway that was discussed at the Tooele meeting, and two other items, one dealing with a new transit project, the other a reallocation of federal funds. The request today is for the Commission to consider approval of STIP Amendment #2. It would then be forwarded to the FHWA and FTA for their approval. Additional discussion focused on the process the local governments and others will have to go through to actually receive the money and make their projects a reality, and the earmarks in general. Commissioner Wells mentioned that discussions are taking place in different forums about the earmarking, but she’s not sure there is a solution. Everyone looks at it a little differently.

Commissioner Warnick moved to approve STIP Amendment #2. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Wells and approved.

2006-2010 STIP Funding Adjustment
Mr. Ditlevsen said the Moab Main Street project and the two US-491 projects are in the southeastern part of the state. One of the US-491 projects is listed in 2005, the other in 2008. The Department recently went through the bidding process and the bids were considerably higher than the engineers estimate. So, the proposal to the Commission today is to take $2.6 million from the 2008 project on US-491, leaving it with $6.4 million. Of that $2.6 million, $1 million would be moved to the FY 05 project on US-491, and $1.6 million would be moved to the FY 05 Moab Main Street project. These two projects would also need to be moved from FY 05 to FY 06 on the STIP.

Dal Hawks, Region Four Director, explained that when the bids were opened on the two projects, it was done such a way that they were combined and awarded as one project to one contractor. Because it was the second time the bid was opened on the Moab Main Street project, they went back and reviewed the project and changed the scope of the pavement and changed the pavement design to a less expensive design. They also hoped that by combining the two projects they would get a favorable bid. However, asphalt prices and concrete prices came in much higher than anticipated for the two projects. There was further discussion about the bid environment in the southeastern part of the state.

Commissioner Wilson moved to approve the funding adjustments and movement of the two projects from FY 05 to FY 06 on the STIP. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Warnick and approved.

Review of Administrative Rules
R920-50-1 Ropeway Operation Safety Rules
Tracy Conti, Operations Engineer, said this change is due to an accident at Brian Head last year, and would put stop gates on both terminals of a ropetow. This will become a national standard within two years, but local operators are already working on making this happen now.

Accomplishments/Conditions and Needs Reports
Motor Carriers
Rick Clasby, Director of Motor Carriers, gave a powerpoint presentation on Port of Entry operations and revenues, driver/vehicle inspections, carrier review and safety audits, accidents and fatalities, a VI/WIM project update, and a satellite port concept.

Aeronautics
Pat Morley, Director of Aeronautics, gave a brief report on the St. George replacement airport. Craig Ide, Aeronautics Pavement Engineer, reviewed pavement management, conditions and preservation, accomplishments, and needs. Kirk Nielsen from Aeronautics discussed their challenges and accomplishments, including the implementation of the project management process, the consultant fee study, providing guidance for consulting fees, and airport inspections.

Informational Items
- Commission Committee Reports/Assignments
The vacancy on the Utah Air Travel Commission (UATC) was discussed. It was determined that Commissioner Millington would serve as the Transportation Commission representative to the UATC.

- Transportation Commission Meetings
The next regular meeting of the Utah Transportation Commission is scheduled for Friday, December 9, 2005, at the UDOT Rampton Complex, 4501 South 2700 West, Salt Lake City, Utah. The following dates and locations were also scheduled:

• January 20, 2006 – SLC
  
• February 17, 2006 – SLC
  
• March 10, 2006 – Kanab
  
• April 21, 2006 – SLC

The meeting adjourned at 3:50 p.m.

The following Commissioners, staff members and others were in attendance:
Glen E. Brown, Chairman
Stephen M. Bodily, Vice-Chairman
Jan C. Wells, Commissioner
Bevan K. Wilson, Commissioner
Ken Warnick, Commissioner
J. Kent Millington, Commissioner
LeAnn G. Abegglen, Commission Secretary
John R. Njord, Executive Director
Carlos M. Braceras, Deputy Director
Jim McMinimee, Project Development Director
Tracy Conti, Engineer for Operations
Ahmad Jaber, Program Development Director
Max Ditlevsen, Program Finance Director
Linda Hull, Director of Legislative and Government Affairs
Tom Hudachko, Director of Public Affairs
Bret Anderson, Program Development
Rick Clasby, Director of Motor Carriers
Pat Morley, Director of Aeronautics
Craig Ide, Aeronautics
Kirk Nielsen, Aeronautics
Dave Nazare, Region Three Director
Merrell Jolley, Region Three
Geoff Dupaix, Region Three
Brent Schvaneveldt, Region Three
Shane Marshall, Region Three
Dal Hawks, Region Four Director
Wes Bolinger, FHWA
Joe Brown, GOPB
Representative John Dougall
Darrell Cook, MAG
Dan Nelson, MAG
Doug Hattery, WFRC
Mayor Dennis Nordfelt, WVC/WFRC
Vincent Liddiard, Eagle Mountain City Council
Mayor Jerry Washburn, Orem City
Doug Forsyth, Orem City Council
Mayor Lewis Billings, Provo City
Dave Knecht, Provo City Council
Wayne Parker, Provo City Administrator
Mayor Tim Parker, Saratoga Springs
Marsha Paskett, Saratoga Springs City Council
Tim Taylor, Saratoga Springs City Council
Mayor Fritz Boyer, Springville/MAG
Mick Crandall, UTA
Hugh Johnson, UTA
Walt Gilmore, SL Co.
Juan C. Arce-Larreta, PRATT
Bill Farrand, PRATT
Bob Clegg, URS
Ron Clegg, PB
Cam Ryan, Sem Materials
Caleb Warnick, Daily Herald