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UDOT TAP manager warns applicants about federal advertisement costs, recommends project bundling and selective site choice for ADA compliance
Summary
A Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) representative told the TAC that recent federal rules prevent swapping federal funds for state funds, increasing project engineering and advertising costs; TAP applicants should consider bundling projects to reduce PE costs and select sites carefully to avoid costly ADA reconstruction.
A UDOT TAP program manager briefed the Ogden‑Layton TAC on March 26 about program administration challenges that affect small pedestrian, bicycle and sidewalk projects.
The manager said UDOT can no longer swap federal funds to state funds for some TAP projects, a practice that in prior years allowed sponsors to avoid high federal advertising and engineering costs. The change means smaller projects face higher preliminary engineering and construction management costs under federal procurement and requires a different approach to packaging projects.
"We used to be able to swap out our federal funds, to turn into state funds ... We're not able to exchange the money, so we're having to advertise these projects," the presenter said. The manager estimated that federal advertisement and associated engineering costs can consume roughly 20% of a small project’s budget, and said UDOT staff are considering encouraging sponsors to bundle several small projects to reach more efficient project sizes for procurement.
The manager also cautioned that ADA crossing and ramp requirements on older streets can make certain projects technically and financially challenging. She advised sponsors to be selective and prioritize flatter sites that will meet ADA cross‑slope and longitudinal slope requirements without very large reconstruction footprints.
UDOT staff said they expect to issue a solicitation on the TAP program in April and that regional planner Ryan Halverson will run the solicitation and selection process.
Committee members asked questions about site selection, ADA constraints and whether cities should coordinate design funding locally to avoid federalizing a whole project. The UDOT manager advised using local dollars for initial design where possible and recommended matching or bundling to reduce per‑project engineering overhead.
