SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — An advocacy group for transportation spending says Utah could lose more than $400 million in federal money for highways and mass transit next year if Congress doesn’t act quickly to prop up the Highway Trust Fund.
Transportation for America says in a new report that if Congress doesn’t pass a new transportation bill, it will create a $47 billion hole in state and local budgets nationwide for projects scheduled to begin next year.
The nonpartisan group issued the study as the Obama administration sent to Congress Tuesday a four-year, $304 billion transportation bill intended to fix the trust fund that provides most U.S. transportation funding.
Utah Department of Transportation spokesman John Gleason told The Salt Lake Tribune the agency is optimistic the budget negotiations won’t force any project delays.