SUNDANCE — Legislators are considering a new proposal that could remove the obstacles in the way of a commuter-rail line through Utah County.

The idea is legislation that would give Utah County voters the flexibility to pass a quarter-cent sales tax hike for commuter rail but use the money for local roads for several years until UTA is ready to extend the express passenger train system from Salt Lake County to Payson.

"This is a major breakthrough philosophically because UTA has said it might be able to do that, depending on how it's structured," state Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, said. "It's the kind of proposal that when you're at an impasse could be a breakthrough."

UTA broke ground last month on the first 44-mile stretch of the commuter-rail line — from Pleasant View in Weber County to Salt Lake City. That project has moved ahead because voters in Weber, Davis and Salt Lake counties approved sales tax increases in 2000.

Utah County dragged its feet to do the same because political leaders worried that money from a quarter-cent sales tax increase — $13 million to $16 million a year, according to Utah County Commissioner Steve White — would go to UTA for as many as 15 years before UTA could even begin to build the line through Utah Valley.

"2012 is the earliest commuter rail can get to Provo," White said. "Why give them all that money until it would be used in Utah County?"

So, will the new idea work?

"I hope so," UTA general manager John Inglish said. "I certainly think there's a plan whereby some of those quarter-cent resources could help with roads and at the appropriate time be used for commuter rail."

Legislation passed in 2003 allows Utah County to keep money from a quarter-cent increase rather than forward it to UTA the way Davis County has done since 2000, but it requires voters to decide whether the money should go to roads or commuter rail, not the hybrid roads-then-rail solution Bramble said was proposed to him by Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert.

Commuter rail could stall anyway unless a solution is found for yet another problem: Years ago, 18 of Utah County's cities joined the Utah Transit Authority as individual entities instead of having the entire county join as one, the way Weber, Davis and Salt Lake counties did.

Another piece of possible legislation might resolve that by authorizing a countywide vote on the proposed commuter rail tax instead of a city-by-city referendum.

Even if both of those problems are solved, the County Commission, some mayors and Rep. Jeff Alexander, R-Provo, aren't convinced commuter rail is the best way to solve Utah County's transportation woes. They have hired a national firm to conduct a study of alternatives.