UPDATE: 1st Year of IIJA Transportation
Projects in Utah

You probably already know what the IIJA Fund is, but if you don’t – the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provides approximately $350 billon for Federal Highway Programs over a five-year period (2022-2026). We have just entered the second year of this funding. So, how did the IIJA impact Utah’s Federal Highway Programs this year?

Throughout Utah, New Mexico, and Wyoming there were over 1,000 transportation projects that were jumpstarted by IIJA funding in its first year. According to ACP: Rocky Mountain Construction, “Utah leveraged $470.1 million in federal highway and bridge formula funds in FY 2022”. This $470.1 million contributed to the beginning of 292 new improvement projects through the state. The biggest ones included:

1. Improvements on I-80; 1300 E to 2300 E an I-215 ($63.5 million)

2. Roadway paving and rehabilitation on US-191; Arizona State Line to Bluff ($14.3 million)

3. Repaving on I-80; MP 60 to 70 and 80 to 88.58 ($12.5 million)

4. Roadway paving and rehabilitation on SR-18; Ledges to Diamond Valle & Veyo to MP 29.5 ($11.5 million)

5. Roadway widening on SR-30; SSR-23 to SR-252 ($8.8 million)

On a national scale, over 29,000 projects were launched through the end of September 2022. Funding will continue to be received over the course of the next 4 years. Roughly 90% of IIJA funding are dispersed by existing formula to states, with the remainder of the funds left to be distributed through discretionary grant awards and other programs.