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UDOT asks for $1.8 million ongoing to restore litter and carcass removal funding
Summary
UDOT officials told the committee that $1.8 million in ongoing general funds are needed to restore prior litter cleanup and animal carcass removal work that was reduced during budget balancing amid the COVID period; committee members discussed education and secure‑your‑load efforts.
UDOT representatives requested about $1,800,000 in ongoing general fund support to restore litter‑cleaning and animal carcass removal programs, saying those allocations were reduced during budget adjustments earlier in the pandemic. Ben Horsley described that roughly $1.8 million was moved previously and that the department has since lacked sufficient funds to maintain regular roadside cleanup.
Horsley said restored funds would allow contracted cleanup on designated routes about six times per year and would help remove animal carcasses that pose safety hazards. "We just wanna cover both because having those alligators on the road or having a dead cow or whatever it may be deer on the road that's a safety hazard and we want to get that off quickly," Horsley said.
Committee members asked about education programs and secure‑your‑load enforcement. Lisa Wilson, UDOT deputy director for engineering and operations, told the committee the department has run social‑media campaigns and worked with corrections and parolee crews to pick up litter; she said Representative Ivory's bill and a sustained education campaign could strengthen secure‑your‑load outreach but that the requested restoration funds would not cover an expanded public education campaign.
No committee vote on the funding restoration was recorded in the transcript; members discussed coordination between agency cleanup funding and legislative education efforts and noted ongoing bills addressing secure‑your‑load enforcement.
