Commuter rail in Utah gets first federal approval

Lines on a map are soon to become railroad tracks on the Wasatch Front landscape.

Utah Transit Authority officials announced Wednesday at a news conference attended by transportation officials and local government leaders that they have received the first of three major federal approvals needed to construct a 44-mile commuter rail network between Salt Lake City and Weber County. UTA wants to eventually construct a commuter rail system from Brigham City on the north to Payson on the south.

"The next time we get together, it will actually be to turn dirt," UTA general manager John Inglish said, calling the Federal Transit Administration's approval this week "a very important milestone event."

The approval, or "record of decision," denotes acceptance of UTA's environmental study of the commuter rail corridor.

The ROD allows UTA to begin negotiations to purchase property from cities and private landowners. There are 140 parcels to be purchased along the corridor, said Stever Meyer, UTA manager of commuter rail construction.

But more and bigger milestones are coming down the line.

UTA must next receive a "letter of no prejudice," expected to be obtained within the next two months. That document — also associated with completion of environmental work — will allow UTA to begin some utility and fill work along the corridor.

The final approval is the full-funding grant agreement, a contract between the FTA and UTA, which will allow the local transit agency to begin all aspects of commuter rail construction. That agreement could be signed as soon as this fall, but much of the construction work can begin before that agreement is signed.

Work on obtaining the two approvals may prove difficult as delays in releasing final environmental work mean UTA must now meet new federal criteria for funding transit projects. The criteria deal with modeling for ridership, traffic relief and total cost.

"We're about a couple hundred feet from the top, but we have a challenge," said Mike Allegra, chief capital development officer for UTA. "There will be storms."

But he's confident about the future. "This is a dream," he said. "It's hard to have imagined six years ago we would have made this much progress."

A tentative completion date for the first phase of the commuter rail network is spring 2008. The 44-mile Salt Lake-to-Ogden corridor is expected to initially attract a minimum average of 5,900 passengers per day.