They won't be laying rail, but preliminary construction work will begin this month on the first phase of commuter rail in Utah.

The Utah Transit Authority announced Tuesday it received federal approval, called a "letter of no prejudice." The approval authorizes UTA to begin all aspects of construction on the project. Initial work will include site preparation, utility work, and the purchase of commuter rail cars and materials like steel.

UTA officials said they received notice of the approval last week.

"This is a big step," said John Inglish, UTA general manager. "This is a milestone event, because we can begin real work.

"This is meeting our commitment to taxpayers."

By fall, UTA anticipates receiving a final federal approval on the first phase of commuter rail, a high-speed train system that will stretch 44 miles from Salt Lake City to Pleasant View in Weber County. The final approval, called a full-funding grant agreement, is a guarantee that the federal government will reimburse a percentage of construction costs. The remainder will be subsidized through local taxes.

"We have final approval to go to construction," said UTA spokesman Justin Jones. "This letter of no prejudice allows us to negotiate with the (Federal Transit Administration) to determine how much they pay and how much we pay."

Steve Meyer, UTA manager of commuter rail construction, said he will begin meeting with officials from cities along the commuter rail corridor to inform them of work schedules. Details will be given about when work will begin at grade crossings, or the points where road and rail intersect. Automobile traffic could be impacted.

Within a month, UTA anticipates hosting an official ground-breaking for the $582 million first phase of commuter rail. At that time, the official name of the project (like TRAX for light rail) could be released, along with the design scheme for commuter rail cars.

By receiving the letter of no prejudice, UTA was able to secure a bid for 12 new train cabs. About one year ago, 30 old cabs and passenger cars were obtained at no cost from the Chicago Metra commuter rail system.

In early 2008, Davis and Weber county residents should be riding those cars, said Inglish.

"I'm excited that we're seeing a lot of things happening," he said. "(Commuter rail) is one more element of the state's overall regional transportation system."

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com