FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 27, 2000
Contact: Kimberly Riddle
Telephone: 202-366-5580

SALT LAKE CITY -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation Mortimer L. Downey today announced grants totaling $26 million in U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) funds to Utah for 2002 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games transportation projects.

"President Clinton and Vice President Gore are committed to investing in transportation projects that will strengthen the economy and reduce traffic congestion during the 2002 Winter Olympics," said Downey. "We are working with the citizens of Utah to build a transportation system that will serve the area long after the Games are over."

During the Olympic Games, spectators will use a variety of intermodal mass transit options to access competition venues in the Salt Lake City area. For events scheduled in the mountains, spectators will drive to park-and-ride lots located within five miles of the venues, and a transit shuttle system will transport them to competition sites. For competitions in the valley, spectators will use a variety of mass transit options including light rail, buses, and park-and-walk lots.

Projects funded under the $13 million Federal Transit Administration combined grants include expenses for additional buses and light rail vehicles to supplement existing transit service in Utah, construction of the Olympic Loop Busway at Snowbasin, park and ride lots, walk and ride lots and other facilities that form the Olympic transit shuttle system.

Deputy Secretary Downey also announced $12.9 million in discretionary funds from the Federal Highway Administration. These grants include $8 million for the widening of I-15, a vital link in the Salt Lake region, and $1.9 million for improvements to roads that access Wasatch Mountain State Park, and the widening of Soldier Hollow Road, an important access road to cross country skiing and biathlon venues.

Additional projects funded under the Federal Highway Administration grants include close to $2 million for two Intelligent Transportation Systems, $469,750 for the Utah-Colorado "Isolated Empire" rail connector planning study, $400,000 in corridor planning funds, $75,000 for three Scenic Byways projects and $68,500 under the Innovative Bridge Research and Construction Program.

The Fiscal Year 2001 Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides a record $58.5 billion for transportation programs. This funding will help the country meet the transportation needs of the 21^st century by continuing to provide a safe, sustainable system of transportation that safeguards the environment and supports economic growth.

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