West Valley officials seeking a Bangerter Highway pedestrian overpass were told Friday their funding request will be treated like any other.
Utah Department of Transportation Executive Director Tom Warne essentially told City Manager John Patterson and his entourage to take a number and wait until it's called - which won't be for at least five years.Warne, however, did suggest that officials and residents attend the Feb. 7 meeting of the state Transportation Commission and ask for help in building an overpass at the Bangerter's intersection with 3100 South, where 15-year-old Chad Riding was killed in a hit-and-run accident earlier this month.
And Warne promised to have UDOT staffers review the accident record of the intersection to see if it could be moved higher on the priority list for funding through UDOT's $1.25-million annual road hazard-elimination program.
"I kind of feel discouraged because it might take longer than I feel it should" to get a $500,000 overpass, said Shirley Alfred, who lives near the intersection and helped formed Communities Hoping to Avoid Deaths, or C.H.A.D. "We're not going to give up."
In a press conference held after the closed meeting, Warne said UDOT is concerned about safety at the intersection as it is about every location where the state's 57,000 traffic accidents occur each year. Because the traditional funding sources in the five-year statewide transportation improvement program are committed, Warne said the group discussed other alternatives.
One option is for residents, community groups and businesses to raise money to pay for the overpass. Patterson said a well-known local company will announce Tuesday its intention to contribute to the effort.
The city has been told it has a better chance of getting help from UDOT if it can come up with half the construction cost - $250,000. The city has agreed to pay $100,000.
Patterson said the city will apply for hazard-elimination funds, which are generally awarded based on the number and severity of accidents at a particular location, and only if something can be done to solve the problem.
"We understand the constraints UDOT faces," Patterson said.