But it looks as if lawmakers during the coming legislative session will hit the brakes on a mammoth transportation funding package that includes tax increases.

"When you try to make a giant leap forward you usually stumble," Senate President-elect John Valentine said Wednesday during a meeting sponsored by the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce.

Valentine said the Legislature is going to take "incremental steps" toward funding new roadway and transit projects. The process will start internally with budget prioritization and some shifting of state funds.

"Before we go to the taxpayers, we have to have our own houses clean," he said.

Business leaders warn that inaction is not a reasonable option.

"We simply cannot put this off any longer," said Lane Beattie, president of the Salt Lake Chamber. "Transportation is the backbone of our economy and way of life."

Picture this: Endless congestion. Smog. High prices for gas and goods.

A stuttering and stagnant economy.

That was the vision Beattie presented to nearly 300 business leaders who were asked to pledge their support for an initiative that would hasten the construction of highway and transit projects during the next decade.

"If we do not address those problems, we will find ourselves in a dire situation," Beattie said.

During the legislative session that begins Jan. 17, lawmakers will debate the merits of a $4.5 billion transportation funding bill that was recently recommended by members of the Legislative Transportation Task Force.

The cost of projects such as the Mountain View Corridor, commuter rail to Provo and bus rapid transit would be covered by the proposed legislation, which includes a 5-cent gas-tax hike, a quarter-cent increase in the state sales tax, increases in trucker fees and vehicle-registration and title fees.

Nearly $2.3 billion would be siphoned over the next 10 years from the state's general fund, which provides money to health and human services, prisons, higher education and other programs.

Gov. Olene Walker's budget doesn't include funding for new transportation projects - only a $70 million one-time allocation to pay off a portion of the Centennial Highway Fund. Gov.-elect Jon Huntsman Jr. plans to release his own spending blueprint next month.

"There are no other alternatives," said Beattie, a former Senate president "They need to understand what the needs are - the size of the bite of apple we have got to take."

Beattie says he is confident the business community can apply pressure to state lawmakers to fund the nearly $7 billion cost of transportation projects during the next 10 years. The public is also willing to take on that costly burden, he said.

As part of the meeting Wednesday, pollster Dan Jones presented results of a survey showing transportation is one of the top four issues in the state - and the public would be willing to pay up if it eases congestion.

During last month's election, 22 states passed ballot initiatives to fund transit and highway projects. Denver's initiative was one of the most substantial as residents voted to raise taxes to provide $4.7 billion for 119 miles of new light rail and commuter-rail lines.

Pam Perlich, of the University of Utah Bureau of Economic and Business Research, released a study Wednesday showing that hefty transportation investments over the next quarter century would result in thousands of new jobs and increased economic development.

nwarburton@sltrib.com