George Hill
Staff Alumnus
I have been doing a great deal of driving up and down I-15 lately and have come to some conclusions.
First off - I am of the opinion that UDOT is clinically insane.
Secondly - Some reorganization is in order. While I do not know all the details of the inner workings of UDOT - some things are abundantly clear. I can imagine that sitting in on a management meeting in the upper levels of UDOT is like sitting at the table at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. To save Utah’s sanity I have a proposal I would like people to consider if only briefly.
Let me point out an example first - Los Angeles had a terrible earthquake some years ago. This quake tore up a lot of the freeway system in many different areas. I remember hearing that there was estimates of 2 years before repairs would be complete. The department of transportation there decided very wisely to privatize the projects and offered the contractors a Bonus for every day the project was completed earlier than estimated. The result was crews worked 24-7 until the project was done. Those 2 years turned out to be only 6 months.
My proposal is thus: UDOT is decapitated, the upper management sacked. UDOT assets are inventoried and leased out to private contracting firms. All UDOT road crews need not loose employment as there could be as many as 5 or 6 large contracting companies across the state of Utah doing highway work. Private companies are much better managed and as they are concerned about profit, can cut costs. Utah Taxpayers could save millions. I have not worked out any details of this proposal - that can be left up to the Governor and his brain trust. The main gist is get rid of state government BS and get in some common sense that can not only clean up the I-15 mess - but make sure future projects never turn into a national joke. I have seen cartoon maps of the US with a banner across Utah “Closed for repairs”. This was rather insulting. The existing remnants of UDOT will only be a dispatching and moderating organization with strict regulations regarding project planning… so such travesties as I-15 will not happen again. I can see such reasons for a huge mess as a natural disaster, but not a sporting event. It has yet to be seen if 2002 turns out to be a disaster… but I am only worried about there being an off ramp open near my exit by that time.
While ranting - I also suggest some streamlining in the DMV… There need not be 2 separate locations in Salt Lake City for registering your car and renewing your DL. First off I see no reason what so ever for annual renewal of your tags. When you buy a vehicle and register it - it stays registered… They know who’s car it is. This is just a method of extracting more taxes out of the people… Money that pays for the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party so they can tear up our state… If these two parts of the DMV got meshed together, the state could save a great deal of money. People could save a great deal of time. If you combine the savings between both my ideas here - the state could save enough money that we will no longer have to pay taxes on our cars every year! I agree with safety and smog inspections - that is very much needed… We don’t pay tax on our TV every year, why our cars? For those thinking that the DMV would become unbearable - search on the internet for Virginia’s DMV and take a look at what Utah’s DMV needs to be like… Bigger waiting areas, with nice seats to wait in… an information booth to ask quick simple questions… forms handed out and queue numbers given so you can fill out your forms and be done by the time your number is called - so waiting is minimal. I suggest the Governor go to Richmond, VA and see for himself what Public Service can be like. Ever see a fellow at the DMV stand in line for 30 minutes only to find out he is in the wrong building? Where should he go? Back across town. Nice… Oh - and DON’T take I-15!
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You might laugh in the face of FEAR... but unless your armed, its a nervous, unconvincing, little laugh.
First off - I am of the opinion that UDOT is clinically insane.
Secondly - Some reorganization is in order. While I do not know all the details of the inner workings of UDOT - some things are abundantly clear. I can imagine that sitting in on a management meeting in the upper levels of UDOT is like sitting at the table at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. To save Utah’s sanity I have a proposal I would like people to consider if only briefly.
Let me point out an example first - Los Angeles had a terrible earthquake some years ago. This quake tore up a lot of the freeway system in many different areas. I remember hearing that there was estimates of 2 years before repairs would be complete. The department of transportation there decided very wisely to privatize the projects and offered the contractors a Bonus for every day the project was completed earlier than estimated. The result was crews worked 24-7 until the project was done. Those 2 years turned out to be only 6 months.
My proposal is thus: UDOT is decapitated, the upper management sacked. UDOT assets are inventoried and leased out to private contracting firms. All UDOT road crews need not loose employment as there could be as many as 5 or 6 large contracting companies across the state of Utah doing highway work. Private companies are much better managed and as they are concerned about profit, can cut costs. Utah Taxpayers could save millions. I have not worked out any details of this proposal - that can be left up to the Governor and his brain trust. The main gist is get rid of state government BS and get in some common sense that can not only clean up the I-15 mess - but make sure future projects never turn into a national joke. I have seen cartoon maps of the US with a banner across Utah “Closed for repairs”. This was rather insulting. The existing remnants of UDOT will only be a dispatching and moderating organization with strict regulations regarding project planning… so such travesties as I-15 will not happen again. I can see such reasons for a huge mess as a natural disaster, but not a sporting event. It has yet to be seen if 2002 turns out to be a disaster… but I am only worried about there being an off ramp open near my exit by that time.
While ranting - I also suggest some streamlining in the DMV… There need not be 2 separate locations in Salt Lake City for registering your car and renewing your DL. First off I see no reason what so ever for annual renewal of your tags. When you buy a vehicle and register it - it stays registered… They know who’s car it is. This is just a method of extracting more taxes out of the people… Money that pays for the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party so they can tear up our state… If these two parts of the DMV got meshed together, the state could save a great deal of money. People could save a great deal of time. If you combine the savings between both my ideas here - the state could save enough money that we will no longer have to pay taxes on our cars every year! I agree with safety and smog inspections - that is very much needed… We don’t pay tax on our TV every year, why our cars? For those thinking that the DMV would become unbearable - search on the internet for Virginia’s DMV and take a look at what Utah’s DMV needs to be like… Bigger waiting areas, with nice seats to wait in… an information booth to ask quick simple questions… forms handed out and queue numbers given so you can fill out your forms and be done by the time your number is called - so waiting is minimal. I suggest the Governor go to Richmond, VA and see for himself what Public Service can be like. Ever see a fellow at the DMV stand in line for 30 minutes only to find out he is in the wrong building? Where should he go? Back across town. Nice… Oh - and DON’T take I-15!
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You might laugh in the face of FEAR... but unless your armed, its a nervous, unconvincing, little laugh.
, or just park, er I mean drive down Blanding Blvd. anytime! 
