As lawmakers dumped plans to borrow $1.6B for transportation, they inserted earmarks for pet projects in an existing bond

In the final minutes of this year's Legislature, lawmakers killed a proposal to borrow a massive $1.6 billion to accelerate transportation projects.But at the same time, they still made sure that a few specific projects will avoid the Utah Transportation Commission’s evaluation process that is designed to avoid politics and ensure that only the most worthwhile projects are funded.Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, blasted the move to direct millions to a few lucky, politically connected projects