A letter from the Federal Highway Administration calls the selection process for the I-15 CORE project “fair and objective.”
The letter was received by the Governor’s office this week with. A copy was also sent to UDOT Director John Njord.
FHWA was a partner with UDOT before construction during the environmental process and Record of Decision. After the ROD was issued, a FHWA official acted as non-voting member during the procurement process.
UDOT was required by FHWA to conduct a competitive selection process.
Catherine, just as a point of clarification, I’m not sure the Federal Government contributed any considerable funding for this project. However, they do have a significant supervisory and management role on the Interstate Highway System, as well as the final say on the approval for new interstate access through an Access Justification Report (AJR). I believe there were several new requests for access to the Interstate on the I-15 Core project.
You’re right; I edited the post to indicate that UDOT is required to have a competitive bidding process.