Utah Transportation Commission
February 9, 2001
Salt Lake City, Utah

The regular meeting of the Utah Transportation Commission, held at 4501 South 2700 West, Salt Lake City, Utah, was called to order at 9:08 a.m. by Commission Chairman Glen E. Brown. He welcomed those attending.

Approval of Minutes
Commissioner Warnick moved to approve the minutes of the January 19, 2001, regular meeting and the January 19, 2001, emergency executive meeting. It was seconded by Commissioner Wilson and approved.

Planning and Programming
Final Approval of the FY 2001-2005 Airport Capital Improvement Program
Monte Yeager said this concept that was developed by Bob Barrett, the former director of Aeronautics, was presented at the last Commission meeting. Each year, the Commission will be presented a five year Airport Capital Improvement Program (ACIP). The plan the Commission has now is the latest update, based on the most current information available, yet it is still changing. They don’t know what consequences will occur as a result of legislative action or inaction. Mr. Yeager recommended that the Commission approve only the projects for the year 2001. Other projects not identified in the 2001 plan that come to their attention will be brought before the Commission, as will cost overruns.

Chairman Brown asked Director Warne to comment on the bill the Department has been tracking at the Legislature. Director Warne stated that the bill, SB 49, speaks to some reallocations of the fuel tax that is collected. However, the bill is not in final form. The concern originally was that there would be an impact on rural airports, but it appears that is not going to be the case now. The nature of the bill is to reduce the fuel tax that is collected, which would largely affect Delta Airlines. The negotiations are largely between the sponsor, Salt Lake City, and Delta Airlines. The purpose of the Department’s involvement is to make sure the rural airports are preserved and the funds are held harmless in the process.

Commissioner Warnick asked why Mr. Yeager wanted the Commission to approve only 2001 projects. Mr. Yeager responded that President Bush has indicated he is thinking about cutting back the appropriations of AIR-21 for 2002 and 2003. With the possibility of the program being something less that expected, the outlying years are flexible. Commissioner Warnick suggested spending some time during the April workshop to get a little more detail on some of the Aeronautics projects, and the “why’s and why not’s” of certain funding, so the Commission has a better understanding of it. John Njord said they will accommodate that request in the workshop.

Director Warne said this procedure is a step forward in the maturing of the airport program. Projects were brought to the Commission individually in the past, but this is a good plan. If the Commission wishes to only adopt 2001, that’s fine. But this is the pattern the Department will want to take so the airports can know what lies ahead in the future. Funding could change, based on what the Legislature does over the next several weeks, and what happens nationally will have an impact too. But, if there’s a basic plan, it can be used to make needed adjustments. Also, the airport side needs the same discipline and planning as the highway side has demonstrated. Commissioner Larkin commented that he thinks it will really help the communities to understand what might be coming to them in the future, rather than it just popping up. Mr. Yeager said he will be sending a copy of the plan to every airport sponsor next week.

Commissioner Clyde asked again the reason for the recommendation of approving only the year 2001 in the plan. Mr. Yeager said it’s a funding issue. If President Bush cuts back on what has been appropriated, then that changes the funding. Commissioner Clyde said that doesn’t change the need though. Maybe they need to go ahead with the long range plan, unless there’s some adjustments that need to be made. Director Warne said the Commission could adopt all five years today with the understanding that depending on how the funding changes, there will be adjustments and changes to the program. What is presented here is accurate and is the best look at the plan as it exists today and of what lies ahead in the future. It’s almost guaranteed the plan will change. Chairman Brown suggested adopting the one year as recommended, then spending a few minutes or so at the April workshop on the out years before they are approved.

Commissioner Wilson said he hopes in all the discussing and planning of the airport needs around the state that they don’t forget the smaller airports out in rural Utah. There are a lot of them that are in dire need of upgrading and help out there as well. Mr. Yeager noted that if they receive the monies as proposed in the Governor’s recommended budget, they will be able to take all the airports off the “hit list” and get back to helping the smaller communities with their airport paving, maintenance and CIP projects.

Commissioner Clyde moved to approve the plan as a good plan, and only recommend the adoption of the first year, with continued surveillance of what the airport needs are and what airport funding is available. Commissioner Larkin seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved.

Planning and Programming
Final Approval of the Statewide Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan
Kevin Nichol explained when ISTEA was adopted, it required the states to have a bicycle and pedestrian coordinator, and to have a bicycle element in their long range transportation plan. Wayne Jager was the first coordinator until a person could be hired. Jan Yekes was then hired, and much of this is a result of her work. She spent her entire time at the Department researching information, going out into the bicycle community and finding out their needs, finding studies that were done, and looking at plans that were adopted by other states to come up with a cohesive plan that addresses the needs of a multi-modal transportation system for pedestrians and bicyclists, as well as Americans with Disabilities Act issues. It’s been a long process, but hopefully this is the final stage of the plan and it can get approved.

Commissioner Wells said there were a couple of things she was interested in, such as facilitating between local governments, and better planning of community design to increase walking, biking and transit. She asked for some examples of that. Mr. Nichol said it’s something they’ve been working on, but doesn’t know how in-depth they’ve gotten. Most of the focus has been on getting the plan out. Sandy Weinrauch, the new bicycle and pedestrian coordinator, will have a little more time to get out into the communities and do some educating as to how to integrate these modes, etc. Commissioner Wells also asked about the map intended for touring cyclists providing a map of the state for bike routes. Mr. Nichol said it’s on their wish list right now. It’s just a matter of putting the time into it and pulling up the levels needed to generate the map. Essentially the map would be just a conditions map indicating the types of conditions that can be anticipated if a particular route is chosen. There are a number of states that have those maps, including Idaho, which has it posted on their web page.

Commissioner Warnick asked if this is a realistic plan that can be implemented in a reasonable period of time. Mr. Nichol replied that he thinks so. At this point, it’s strictly policy based. But the intent is to give the preconstruction engineers and maintenance people a guideline as to what UDOT’s policy is on these issues so they can make decisions accordingly. They also plan to review the plan every two to five years, depending on the dynamics of it. However, they may want to look at it again in a year just because it’s a new document. Discussion ensued about bicycles on the interstate, where they are and are not allowed to ride, and minimum speed limits.

Mr. Nichol said this document has been out for a final 30 day public review. There were 12 individual comments received, and some of those comments were incorporated. Randy Lamoreaux mentioned that in this plan, there are indications that sidewalks should be provided on both sides of bridges. However, there are a lot of bridges that don’t have the sidewalks on both sides and the Department can’t reasonably make a provision to put sidewalks on those bridges because of funding. The plan does give them the ability to bring funding in as an analysis piece on what they can do with a bridge. It’s an area they have to be careful with, though.

Commissioner Wells made a motion to approve the Statewide Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan. It was seconded by Commissioner Clyde and unanimously approved.

Resolution
Transfer of SR-106 (Between 400 North and 500 South) in Bountiful
John Quick said this resolution is a request from Bountiful City, in that they would like to take over a section of State Route 106. There is a project scheduled this summer and Bountiful City is using local government funds to do those improvements. They would like to have control of that particular project, as well as potential maintenance and responsibility for that section of road. Mr. Quick said it has been reviewed, and all agree with the concept of it being transferred. SR-106 was identified in the Department’s jurisdictional studies as a road that probably does not meet the criteria for a state highway. UDOT would like to have it transferred. Mr. Quick recommended it be transferred to Bountiful City.

Mayor Cushing of Bountiful said they are in agreement with what the staff has said, and the letter they wrote to Jim McMinimee outlines in detail what they hope it would accomplish. Chairman Brown asked about local designs and construction standards that apply to this road. Paul Rowland, Bountiful City Engineer, said as far as specific design elements they use as their standard that UDOT doesn’t use, an example would be storm drain type equipment. Their standard inlet box is different than the inlet box UDOT would require them to use. Chairman Brown asked if there were other segments of SR-106 that Bountiful City anticipates wanting in the future. Mayor Cushing said there are others they would like to discuss, but not today. Mr. Rowland pointed out that SR-106 starts in Bountiful and extends all the way to Farmington, about nine miles. It might seem odd to take nine blocks from the middle and transfer it because there are other adjoining state roads at the two ends of this nine block section.

Commissioner Clyde expressed his concerns that standards not be compromised unless the utilization of this road is going to be changed. Will future plans compromise the transportation? Mr. Rowland said they anticipate this will continue to move traffic, and not just inside of Bountiful City. It has become somewhat of a heavier used corridor between the cities in South Davis County. They don’t want to compromise any of the standards, and they don’t anticipate reducing this road’s ability to transport cars. They are going to put in a concrete surface though. They have done several of those, and it’s designed to meet the 2020 - 2025 anticipated traffic needs. Mayor Cushing said it is their full intention to maintain the integrity of that segment of the road. It will not be compromised in any way. It’s a very important part of their city, particularly as a thoroughfare. Jim McMinimee said they have reviewed how this fits into the transportation network in Bountiful, and he believes they will be okay with the fact that Bountiful City still has to meet AASHTO standards in order to spend federal money. And, UDOT will still have involvement in design from the review standpoint. They will have a minimum standard on the road that will be compatible with the other facilities UDOT has. An error on the map with routing numbers was pointed out, and Mr. Quick said he would make the necessary corrections.

Commissioner Clyde moved to approve this transfer to Bountiful City, subject to the proposed change in the routing on the map. It was seconded by Commissioner Warnick and approved.

Olympic Funidng Update
Andrew Gemperline displayed a large map and said there are maps in the Commission’s binders to follow along with too. There’s also a page in the binders that is labeled page 134, which is a section on the Olympic funding. Listed there are specific projects that UDOT has put out that are either completed or will be completed, and that will have a huge impact on how successful they will be at moving all the people that come for the Olympic games. The Snowbasin access road is up and running at this point in time, but the project is not fully complete, as it still needs it’s final surface put on this spring. The Snowbasin access road, between SR-167 and the Snowbasin ski area, will become a vital link for 20,000 fans during the games. That road will be fed by busses coming from Cornia and Mountain Green park and rides. Approximately 250 busses will be operating from those two park and rides, and the access road will be limited to accredited vehicles as well. The old access will continue to be open, but will be used only as an emergency access during the games.

Mr. Gemperline said the Utah Olympic Park access is serving that area well. The Soldier Hollow access road encompasses the US-40 widening project into Heber City, and some local routes adjacent to and into the state park where the Soldier Hollow venue is. Some improvements were made that will handle the transit shuttle systems and the spectators going into and out of that venue. SR-248 is the two lane road coming from US-40 into Park City, and that project was completed last summer. Commissioner Clyde asked about 5A and 5B being listed as separate projects on the list. John Njord said when they first began to search after federal funds for all of these projects, the Kimball and Silver Creek project was a project called Interchanges on Interstate 80. It was one single project, and was project number five in all of the requests made to Washington D.C. As the project evolved, it was broken into two projects, and in order to be consistent with the numbering, they called them 5A and 5B. Mr. Gemperline said Kimball Junction is open and they should be close to finalizing the project. Jim McMinimee said there is still some work to do this spring and there is some work on the traffic signals that needs to be taken care of.

Mr. Gemperline said the US-89 and I-84 Interchange, normally referred to as the Cornia Drive interchange, is the first phase of the larger system improvements that will occur in the South Weber area. It’s well on its way and will be completed by next fall. The West Valley ramp is near the E-Center. It’s a congested area, so they are going to put in some extra lanes and a light to make it a safer configuration. The SR-173 bridge is near Kearns High School on 5400 South. It has been let and will be completed by the games. This project in particular will be completed with state funds. The ITS improvements weren’t necessarily Olympic related, but there will be great benefit from them. The earmark shown for FY 01 is $900,000. Mr. Gemperline said that the pages he is showing the Commission are actually in a transportation plan that will be taken back to Washington to try and get additional money for the Paralympics.

Chairman Brown said there is an jurisdictional issue relating to the south access of the Olympic Sports Park, the old Bear Hollow Road. Negotiations are continuing with Summit County, as there are some things that need to be worked out on that prior to the Olympics. Mr. Gemperline said the negotiations with the counties on many of the roads continues to be a struggle. The counties are continually wanting improvements, especially around the park and rides. Chairman Brown mentioned that there is a bill in the Legislature that will transfer roads in the county to the state for 16 or 17 days during the Olympics. SLOC and the state both feel that they can’t be held hostage in any way over petty stuff that will interfere with putting on the games. So, in the best interest of everyone, one entity is going to have to have jurisdiction. That is the type of authority they are seeking through the Legislature this year. Discussion continued regarding jurisdictional transfers.

Mr. Gemperline noted that much of the highway projects on the first sheet came through Public Lands funds as well as Federal Highway fund, Interstate Maintenance, etc. Commissioner Warnick asked about the remaining needs column. Mr. Gemperline said looking at the total prices on the Silver Creek and Kimball Junction projects in the total column, it’s up near $49 million. They were unsuccessful this year in obtaining the $15 to 16 million to bring those whole under a federal funding standpoint. So, those totals are left out and they will be going back after them again this year to see if they can get money to finish those projects. Otherwise, the state has to cover those costs.

Mr. Gemperline continued and referred to the second sheet, Olympic Transit Projects. The Planning Funds on the first line are all Federal Highways or USDOT funds that have been allotted to Utah to plan the games. Those funds are distributed through MAG, WFRC, Park City Transit, Salt Lake City, UDOT, and UTA. The funds are used to plan for the games, from transportation modeling efforts to tabletop exercises, where they will sit down with all the transportation providers and put incidents out that may come up. They’ll see how they work together in making quick decisions and managing the problems that come up. The Venue Load/Unload has to do with widening bus turnouts for busses along some of the roads to get the people in and out. It also includes labor and equipment materials to supplement UDOT in getting snow removal taken care of at the park and rides. There is a need to hire approximately 500-600 parking attendants to get people in and out quickly so the roads don’t jam up, and to get people from one place to another in a timely fashion.

The Transit Bus project is referred as the bus loan program. They are using the money to hire approximately 1000 drivers, including 60 mechanics, and to borrow 900 busses. SLOC is obtaining the busses. They also have to bring the drivers with them, and they have to transport all the busses here and back. Then there’s maintenance, obtaining parts, the mechanics, the food, training, housing, uniforms, etc. Mr. Gemperline said they would like SLOC to loan the busses and hire the drivers. Other items with this include traffic control devices, and there’s up to $5 million just in cones, barricades, signing, etc. that will be put out there to manage the roadways. Finally, they are looking at these monies to help where needed, such as to increase towing ability and response time for tows if there are any problems with any of the 900 transit busses. And with another 400 motor coaches that will be transporting all the sponsor guests, there will be a lot of heavy vehicles in the area, going up steep grades they haven’t seen, so they’d like to make sure they are positioned and ready to respond quickly to emergencies.

Mr. Gemperline said the monies in the Bus Maintenance Facilities category go both to UTA and to UDOT. Off of US-40 and the Silver Summit interchange, they are building a new Olympic bus maintenance facility, which will be completed by October. It will become a UDOT maintenance facility after the Olympics, replacing the maintenance facility on SR-224. There are three other maintenance facilities, UTA’s existing Ogden facility, the Meadowbrook facility, and the Timpanogos facility. Commissioner Wells asked if they are going to paint the busses so they will all be the same. Are they going to do something to identify them? Mr. Gemperline responded that they aren’t anticipating decorating the busses with any special “bus wrap.” This is an opportunity for some of the transit agencies to show the U.S. they are a player in the games.

As far as the Olympic Park and Rides are concerned, Cornia and Mountain Green are both on existing gravel pits. During the games, 20,000 people are expected, with 6,000 cars at Cornia, and 2,000 or so at Mountain Green. There will be a test event in two weeks, with 34 busses hauling approximately 5,000 people attending the downhill event at Snowbasin. On US-40, the park and ride there will hold about 7,000 vehicles, with room for about 300-400 busses. They are trying to plan for the park and rides to last 17 days. There will be a heavier pavement structure under where the busses will be versus where the cars will be so they don’t sink any of the heavy busses. That will become a management situation in the parking lot, directing cars and busses to the right sections. The park and ride on SR-224 holds about 5,000 vehicles. Soldier Hollow has it’s own park and ride, which will be located on the Heber Valley Sewer District property. Things are well underway and coordinated there. There will also be some road improvements with that park and ride that will be very helpful to UDOT roads. Because of the shuttle system, it’s a one way route in and a one way route back, and they are going to put some deceleration lanes on US-189 going into Charleston where the busses can pull off and make their turns without interfering with traffic. There will also be joint use properties, such as LaVell Edwards Stadium, which will be a shuttle stop, sending people to the Peaks Ice Arena. At the Utah Olympic Oval, Kearns High School will be in session, so they won’t be able to use their parking lot. They will utilize a local property owner’s seven acres. Mr. Gemperline said the last item, the Paralympics, did not get funded. They won’t have to build any infrastructure, but will have to operate parking and drivers, etc. They will be going back to Washington to try and obtain funding.

Following the conclusion of actual agenda items, the Commission continued with brief discussions regarding the Centennial Highway Fund, the law suits on Legacy Highway, the proposed overpass in Brigham City, the Price to Wellington project, a pedestrian overpass on the south end of Bangerter Highway, and the SR-10 and coal hauling issues.

Information Items
Next Transportation Commission Meetings
The next regular meeting of the Utah Transportation Commission will be held Friday, March 9, 2001, 9:00 a.m., in St. George, Utah. The following date and location has also been scheduled:

• April 20, 2001 - Salt Lake City

The meeting adjourned at 11:40 a.m.

The following Commissioners, staff members and others were in attendance:

Glen E. Brown, Chairman
James G. Larkin, Vice-Chairman
Hal M. Clyde, Commissioner
Stephen M. Bodily, Commissioner
Jan C. Wells, Commissioner
Bevan K. Wilson, Commissioner
Kenneth L. Warnick, Commissioner
LeAnn G. Abegglen, Commission Secretary
Thomas R. Warne, Executive Director
John R. Njord, Deputy Director
Randall K. Lamoreaux, Project Development Director
Max J. Ditlevsen, Program Development Director
David K. Miles, Engineer for Operations
Charles Larsen, Comptroller
Lyle McMillan, Chief of Right of Way
John Quick, Engineer for Planning
Lynette Phillips, Director of Public Affairs
Amanda Covington, Community Relations
Monte Yeager, Aeronautics
Bret Anderson, Program Development
Kevin Nichol, Program Development
Sandy Weinrauch, Program Development
Andrew Gemperline, UDOT/SLOC
Jim McMinimee, UDOT Region Two Director
Teri Newell, UDOT Region Two
Sam Klemm, WFRC
Darrell Cook, MAG
Mayor John Cushing, Bountiful City
Tom Hardy, Bountiful City Manager
Paul Rowland, Bountiful City Engineer
Lloyd Cheney, Bountiful City
David C. Gibbs, Division Administrator, FHWA
Dan Isom, Sverdrup
Jacob Santini, Standard Examiner