U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg talks about new infrastructure tasks to assist construct resilience to the impacts of utmost climate throughout a press convention with Gov. Spencer Cox outdoors of the Capitol in Salt Lake Metropolis on Friday, July 29, 2022. Kristin Murphy, Deseret Information
U.S. Division of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Salt Lake County Friday, selecting Utah to announce new and transformational federal funding, tour our canyons and interact with native leaders.
Whereas right here, Buttigieg visited with firefighters who protected lives, properties and roads final yr in the course of the Parleys Canyon Hearth. I had the prospect to share with the secretary the priority I had for our area when the hearth broke out that sizzling August day nearly a yr in the past. We confirmed him the burn scar, identified the properties of the 8,000 residents that have been evacuated and the stretch of Interstate 80 that's nonetheless beneath risk of mudslide as a result of vegetation devoured by the hearth.
I've vivid recollections of Day 1 of the hearth. En path to a household marriage ceremony, I occurred to be driving in Parleys Canyon shortly after the hearth began. Seeing the flames so near the interstate and transferring quickly towards properties was scary. I nervously sat by way of the marriage, texting my emergency administration crew all through, and left early, fearing the hearth would turn into a large-scale risk involving a number of jurisdictions and tons of of firefighters. Certainly, it did. Sadly, it gained’t be the final fireplace that impacts individuals and property in our state.
We're contending with local weather change impacts which are leading to an elevated threat of pure disasters, threatening our security and high quality of life. This summer time now we have confronted weeks of record-setting warmth and like many Western states, wildfires at the moment are a continuing risk all through the summer time season.
Buttigieg was right here to announce a game-changing federal program that can assist our state with roughly $65 million in new funding to organize for future wildfires and different excessive occasions.
The Selling Resilient Operations for Transformative, Environment friendly, and Price-saving Transportation (PROTECT) program will distribute $7.3 billion nationally for freeway, transit, rail and port tasks that make our transportation and infrastructure programs extra resilient to wildfires and different harmful climate. Utah’s funding will assist us adapt our infrastructure to rising temperatures, avalanches, wildfires, flooding, earthquakes and different life-threatening occasions.
Lots of of acres in Salt Lake County border foothills the place city wildfire threat is extraordinarily excessive. Years in the past, I served on the Unified Hearth Authority Board of Trustees when two fires compelled tons of of residents to depart their properties. These have been shut calls and there will likely be extra. The federal funding introduced this week by Buttigieg will present vital assets in order that when these shut calls happen, we're ready.
Along with PROTECT, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Regulation is a historic alternative to assist us keep forward of development and modernize our infrastructure. It'll present Utah with $2.6 billion to restore highways and bridges, $665 million to strengthen public transportation, $181 million to improve airports, $57 million to cut back carbon emissions; $36 million to deploy electrical car charging infrastructure; and $19 million to boost roadway security. These transformative tasks will serve the wants of residents, staff, companies and guests right here in Utah.
Because the fastest-growing state within the nation, with a inhabitants improve of 18.4% over the previous decade, it's extremely expensive to remain on prime of our infrastructure wants. Our superb high quality of life has attracted expertise and companies throughout sectors like monetary companies, data expertise and superior manufacturing. Vacationers are visiting our beautiful landscapes in file numbers. That's excellent news, however everyone knows it takes longer to get from level A to level B on our roads and the expansion places stressors on our infrastructure.
Regardless of these challenges, I stay optimistic.
As evidenced by the go to by Buttigieg, there's a coordinated and intentional effort between the Biden administration, state leaders, the Utah Division of Transportation, the Utah Transit Authority, the Wasatch Entrance Regional Council and native jurisdictions inside Salt Lake County to modernize our infrastructure. The federal assets offered by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Regulation will assist to deal with the myriad challenges and reap the benefits of alternatives to be extra resilient.
As mayor of Salt Lake County, I'm grateful to President Joe Biden and his administration for this well timed funding, which acknowledges the risks posed by climate-related hazards and gives monetary help to assist mitigate these dangers. Investing in infrastructure constructed to resist future threats will guarantee our neighborhood stays protected, affluent and resilient for generations to come back.
Jenny Wilson is mayor of Salt Lake County.