Sen. John Curtis shares Utah’s priorities with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy
Apr 3, 2025, 6:27 AM
The FrontRunner moves northbound over 2100 North in Lehi on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (Isaac Hale, Deseret News)
(Isaac Hale, Deseret News)
During an exchange with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Sen. John Curtis spoke about some of Utah’s transportation priorities and how the state can be an example for the rest of the country.
The conversation happened during an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Wednesday, on the Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill.
Curtis started addressing Duffy by inviting the secretary to visit Utah soon, partially to see the state’s FrontRunner commuter rail system.
During an exchange with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Sen. John Curtis spoke about some of Utah’s transportation priorities and how the state can be an example for the rest of the country.
The conversation happened during an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Wednesday, on the Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill.
Curtis started addressing Duffy by inviting the secretary to visit Utah soon, partially to see the state’s FrontRunner commuter rail system.
During an exchange with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Sen. John Curtis spoke about some of Utah’s transportation priorities and how the state can be an example for the rest of the country.
The conversation happened during an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Wednesday, on the Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill.
Curtis started addressing Duffy by inviting the secretary to visit Utah soon, partially to see the state’s FrontRunner commuter rail system.
Curtis also highlighted Utah’s Metropolitan Planning Organizations and how Utah is the only state in the nation where all of its MPOs work together. The senator positioned Utah as an example for other states in relation to the reauthorization bill.
“I’m sure you’ll be a champion, and I’ll take your lead and what we learned from the successes, and how do we improve on the successes in this new bill,” Duffy said.
The Senator brought up off road vehicles such as four wheelers and ATVs, pointing out that they contribute $281 million a year to the Highway Trust Fund but only receive $84 million back.
He told Duffy that he would love to speak to him about returning more of those funds back to Utah’s trails programs, as part of the bill.
The two spoke about transitioning more authority to the states for transportation projects. Curtis added that projects often get done faster and more cost effectively when done under state authority compared to those done under federal authority.
Read the full story at deseret.com
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