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The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) says it has to pick and choose which road projects to work on because of shrinking funding. Other states are much worse off.
Regardless of gas prices, the gas tax hasn't changed since 1997. In that time, steel, asphalt and concrete costs have gone up 220 percent.
Spokesman Nile Easton says UDOT already is having to make tough decisions, and people will notice a difference.
"In the end we're going to be asking our roads to last longer. And people, the comfort they will feel on those roads might start getting a little worse as we try to get more time out of those roads," he said.
There's less federal money to go around, too. UDOT does pay for about 85 percent of its own road projects. That helps ease the pain other states are feeling.
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
