This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The Utah Department of Transportation is getting a $750,000 Federal Highway Administration grant to speed the use of portable, variable speed-limit signs to reduce speed limits approaching four active construction zones.

The grant was one of seven totaling $5.4 million that are designed to accelerate innovative road and bridge work in Utah, Arizona, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio.

"We are building projects faster and at less cost to taxpayers, without compromising safety, because of the investments being made through this program," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in announcing the grant. "Saving money on one project means we can make improvements to critically needed infrastructure in communities elsewhere and that's smart investing."

Funding comes from the agency's Accelerated Innovation Deployment Demonstration program, which has $30 million to invest with federal, state, local and tribal government agencies on innovative projects, he noted.