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Enormous Construction Schedule Ahead

By LaVarr Webb

Utah’s hot economy is being fed, in part, by an enormous construction binge, with big projects planned and underway all across the Wasatch Front. But the construction boom is going to get even bigger over the next several months and years as the biggest transportation construction program in the state’s history gets rolling.

The Utah Transit Authority will build 70 miles of rail in 7 years, including four new TRAX light rail lines and 40 miles of FrontRunner commuter rail, at a cost of more than $2 billion. That program alone has engineering and contracting/construction companies salivating. A recent UTA contracting conference outlining the program drew firms from all over the country.

Meanwhile, the Utah Department of Transportation has a $1.5 billion ongoing construction program going, with more than 200 projects. The Legislature essentially doubled UDOT’s program in the last session. And with massive projects like the I-15 rebuild in Utah County, Mountain View Corridor, Southern Corridor in St. George, and others on the near horizon, the highway program is just going to get bigger.

The big challenge for both UDOT and UTA will be finding construction companies that have enough workers to get the jobs done. Extreme competition already exists for skilled labor. Good jobs will be plentiful.

These massive transportation construction programs are crucial to sustaining mobility and keeping Utah’s economy humming. With the state’s rapid population growth, homes and businesses are sprouting up overnight along the Wasatch Front, especially in the western portions of Utah and Salt Lake counties. Congestion continues to increase.

The Legislature was wise in funding highways at the highest level possible this year. But it’s important to keep in mind that a long-term solution to the highway funding gap has still not been found. Through 2030, a $16.5 billion deficit yet exists, and funding still must be identified for the biggest projects like I-15 in Utah County, Mountain View Corridor, Legacy north, Davis I-15, Highway 6, and the Southern Corridor in St. George.

The state can’t count on enormous budget surpluses every year, so paying for those big projects will require dedicating more on-going existing revenue to highways, or raising the gasoline tax or other taxes. Tolling remains a possibility to help finance highways, but little political appetite for tolling seems apparent.

While Utah’s lawmakers made some excellent progress in highway funding this year, much remains to be done.