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SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Department of Transportation is hoping to stretch some of the stimulus money it's getting from the federal government. So far, contractors and a very competitive bidding environment are helping that effort.
UDOT Deputy Director Carlos Braceras says many of the bids for recent projects have come in around 15 percent lower than UDOT engineers had estimated.
"You start doing that for 57, 70, 100 projects and you start to accumulate a significant amount of revenue that can be re-prioritized by the Transportation Commission," he said.
Braceras says if the trend continues, they may be able to approach the commission in April with between $10 million and $20 million in projects that can be reprogrammed.
It's a far cry from the last three years, during which Braceras says UDOT had to deal with annual cost increases around 20 percent.
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
