Bill Bennett: “I rise today to enter a colloquy with the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation Appropriations, Senator Shelby.…”

“I rise today to enter a colloquy with the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation Appropriations, Senator Shelby. The topic of my colloquy addresses the ongoing design/build work on Interstate 15 through the Salt Lake Valley and the unique opportunity this project presents to conduct seismic and other bridge structure research on existing overpasses that will soon be replaced. I would like to thank the Transportation Appropriations Chairman for his interest and support of research on Interstate 15 bridge structures during the reconstruction of this important segment of highway. The Subcommittee on Transportation Appropriations included language in its report (105-249, page 96) which provides $2,000,000 for research on Interstate 15 bridge structures. This report language directs the Federal Highway Administration to make this money available to the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) and the Utah Transportation Center (UTC), Chairman Shelby, am I correct in understanding that UDOT was included in this language primarily to facilitate the flow of these federal funds to the Utah Transportation Center which will administer the research done by Utah State University, University of Utah and Brigham Young University?”