Utah transportation officials on Wednesday officially unveiled hundreds of transit projects planned for the state between this year and 2050.
The new plan is a compilation of separate regional plans developed by Utah’s metropolitan planning organizations. These organizations include local government planners, the Utah Department of Transportation and the Utah Transportation Authority, among others, according to the plan’s website.
The projects listed in the plan will add 4,700 miles of active transportation pathways across the state, including bike paths, multi-use paths and improved trails.
The goal is to cut down nearly six days of drive time and make for cleaner air, because officials project a 13% reduction in emissions statewide once they are complete, according to a news release.
Utah’s economy will also get a boost from the plan, officials say. As a whole, the improvements stand to add $247.2 billion to Utah’s gross domestic product, thanks to about $117 billion in estimated construction spending and $100 billion from new transportation efficiencies, according to the plan’s website.
Construction alone is expected to create about 74,000 jobs. And an estimated 96,500 more jobs could come from the plan’s eventual benefits to Utah businesses — and new businesses that may choose to relocate to Utah as a result.
What is the plan?
Each of Utah’s four urban metropolitan planning organizations, or MPOs, contribute transportation plans dated through 2050, according to the statewide plan’s website. That includes Cache MPO, the Wasatch Front Regional Council, the Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG) and Dixie MPO.
UDOT also has its own long-range plan, which covers nonurban areas that aren’t a part of the state’s four MPOs, the site states.
The website revealed Wednesday showcased projects including the Little Cottonwood Canyon Gondola, which is a part of the Wasatch Front Regional Council’s long-term plan. A map allows users to filter plans by MPO, state senate district or house district.
Users can also filter the map by the types of projects — like active transportation, which includes bike lanes and multi-use paths, versus highway and transit projects.
Each municipal planning organization — along with UDOT and UTA — prioritizes their long-term projects into 10-year phases, and this prioritization typically takes about four years, according to the website. That’s when all agencies come together to make a statewide plan for transit developments.
How will the plan work?
Financing for these projects is typically funded through fuel taxes, auto-related sales taxes, grants and other sources, according to the plan’s website. But it varies.
You can find information about how and when each project is expected to be funded on the website. The gondola’s construction, for instance, is estimated to cost about $391,000,000. The website notes that project has “assumed funding” constrained to the seven-year phase of its planned construction between 2043-2050.
This “assumed funding” is calculated with current revenue sources — such as fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees — and is expected to total $94.4 billion by 2050. The equation also assumes an additional $18.4 billion in revenue will be generated from new sources over the years, leaving a $39.8 billion shortfall for the plan’s total cost.
“A project being included in the fiscally constrained Unified Plan project list doesn’t guarantee it will ultimately be programmed for funding,” the plan website reads.
To see what leaders have planned for Utah transit, visit: unifiedplan.org.
