Congressman Merrill Cook asks Utah Senate to back $4 billion Olympic-era transportation request

Congressman Merrill Cook told the Utah Senate on Feb. 28 that he has asked the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for roughly $4,000,000,000 for transportation projects timed to the 2002 Winter Olympics. "I have submitted to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on behalf of the Utah Department of Transportation a $4,000,000,000 request for infrastructure improvements geared to the 02/2002," Cook said in remarks to the chamber.

Cook listed project-level requests and priorities he said were included in the package: about $970 million to expand I‑15 and rebuild interchanges, $24 million to reconstruct I‑80/I‑215 at the mouth of Parley's Canyon, $261 million to reconstruct US‑89 between Farmington and South Ogden, $244 million for a Western Transportation Corridor, more than $1 billion to finish the North‑South light‑rail project including spurs to the airport and University of Utah, $565 million for a commuter rail line between Provo and Ogden, and about $500 million for airport improvements at Salt Lake City.

Cook urged Utah's legislative leaders — including the governor and the president of the state House — to travel to Washington for a March 11 hearing where he said Utah has been granted unusually extended time. "I and my staff are already geared up to fight for every dollar we can get for Utah's critical transportation needs," he said, adding he will provide monthly updates on the package's progress beginning in April.

Senators asked about which projects specifically would reduce I‑15 congestion, impacts on Summit County and affected mayors. Cook told the chamber he aimed to include mayors throughout Salt Lake County in the request and stressed the urgency of improving the Wasatch Front's transport network ahead of the Games.

The congressman framed the request as part of a collaborative effort with state officials and local leaders and said the federal government "must respond to this need" given the Olympics timetable. He acknowledged the figures are large and that Utah "probably won't get everything we're asking for," but said congressional transportation leaders he had spoken with were committed to helping the state.

The Senate received Cook's presentation and returned to the day's agenda; members thanked him for attending and encouraged coordinated testimony to the congressional subcommittee.