A long-controversial $190 million bus rapid transit (BRT) project in Provo and Orem — now 50 percent complete — is facing a projected $11.3 million cost overrun.
That unplanned expense could create political problems for some of its staunch supporters. That includes Provo Mayor John Curtis, who is running for Congress, and UTA Board co-chairwoman Sherrie Hall Everett, a candidate for Provo mayor.
Some UTA board members learned of the problem not from agency executives, but through a Facebook post by Utah County Commission Chairman Bill Lee.
“This is seriously concerning to me,” board member Brent Taylor wrote on Facebook, “when a Facebook post from someone outside UTA is the first time I learn about a very significant projected cost overrun on UTA’s largest construction project of the decade.