This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

Taylorsville • Besides new proposals for a variety of big tax hikes for transportation, legislators also are considering borrowing a lot — $1.2 billion — to accelerate some major projects.

Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville, told the Utah Transportation Commission on Friday that he will sponsor a bill to borrow that amount through bonds — and then spend it following priorities suggested by the commission.

He said that too often in the past, legislators have used such borrowing bills to fund pet projects in their areas. Harper said he wants to change that.

"We're shifting more away from 'Christmas tree' lists designated by the Legislature, more to allocating funds to the commission and allowing you to go through the prioritization process," Harper said.

He listed for The Tribune some of the projects that he said the commission has told him it would like taken up if the money is available. They include:

• Extending the new Mountain View Corridor highway in Salt Lake County from where it currently ends at 5400 South to 2100 South.

• Finishing all planned express-lane sections on Interstate 15 in Weber and Davis counties.

• Converting more intersections on Bangerter Highway into full freeway-style interchanges, slowly making that highway more of a freeway.

• Rebuilding Interstate 15 between Lehi and Bangerter Highway. That project, called The Point, is the last portion of I-15 still to be rebuilt to replace aging, deteriorating pavement and road bed. It is already scheduled to begin next year.

Harper said the projects are among $2.2 billion worth of work the commission has said it might like to see accelerated. "I do like challenges, but that may be more than I can do," and he is targeting $1.2 billion instead, Harper said.

He added that such three-year bonds would keep the state's bonded indebtedness to less than 66 percent of the constitutional limit, "which I think is better than where we have been in the past. I think it will keep some of the contractors and a lot of our residents employed," he said.

Earlier this week, the Legislature's Transportation Interim Committee said it is considering raising gasoline taxes, sales taxes and car-registration fees to cover a projected $11 billion shortfall through 2040 for high-priority projects in the state's unified transportation plan.

It is looking at an increase in the state's gasoline tax of at least 5 cents a gallon, and may allow the tax to start rising automatically with inflation.

Cities and counties also asked for permission to ask voters for a new ¼-cent sales tax per $1 in sales tax for local road projects

The committee is also looking at raising registration fees on electric, hybrid, natural gas and other vehicles that now largely escape gasoline taxes to force them to pay more for road maintenance.

While not part of current Transportation Committee negotiations, others have proposed raising current sales taxes for mass transit to a full penny per $1 purchase — an increase of up to 45 percent in some areas.

Amid talk of a new bonding bill, the commission on Friday approved spending the last money from a 2013 bonding bill.

That included approving a $2.2 million project to improve the intersection of State Road 92 and Center Street in Lehi to allow better access to the Micron plant. It was part of road funding the bill gave to the Governor's Office of Economic Development to improve economic development.

The commission also approved several small projects by using a final $651,000 remaining from the 2013 bill.

That included a $150,000 study on how to improve the Interchange of Foothill Drive and Interstate 80 in Salt Lake City; $51,000 to study passing lanes and bike lanes from Hurricane to Spingdale; $50,000 for a study to improve Moab's Main Street; and $400,000 for a corridor-preservation study for State Road 73 from Lehi to Tooele County.