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The Clinton administration granted Utah another $90 million in transportation funds Tuesday, including $75 million for highway work deemed necessary for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
"We're savoring today's news," said Gov. Mike Leavitt after U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater announced the release of "discretionary funds."
No less enthusiastic was Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) President Frank Joklik, who has been antsy knowing the transportation system for the 2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympics depended on the completion of a half-dozen major road projects. Slater's allocation helps relieve that anxiety.
"This is a great first step," he said. "The allocation of these funds is very timely because construction will have to start in the spring to meet the critical time demands for the Winter Games. The support that Secretary Slater and the White House provided were absolutely the best we could have hoped for."
The announcement reduced -- but did not eliminate -- Leavitt's worries about SLOC not being able to raise all of the revenue projected in its $1.45 billion budget.
The governor has told SLOC he will not sign off on the budget until contingencies are made for revenue shortfalls of up to $100 million, shortfalls that would come about if federal funding or private sponsorships...