As for commuter rail, all environmental work has been finished. UTA is now designing the line and seeking an agreement from Union Pacific to build adjacent to its rail line, Allegra said. He declined to give specific dates for construction to begin on all the rail lines, but said they would be finished by 2015.

Residents such as Eileen Stevenson, of Kearns, are excited. Stevenson has lived in New York City and said transit is an effective way to reduce congestion. She wants TRAX to extend to her neighborhood.

"I feel that if you built it, they will come," Stevenson said.

But others question the effectiveness of the rail lines. Taylorsville Mayor Russ Wall said he commissioned an independent study from the Wasatch Front Regional Council that showed few residents of his city will see an impact from the rail lines, whether good or bad.

Wall was one of two mayors who voted both this year and last against giving sales tax dollars to fund three of the rail lines. He said he is not anti-transit, but prefers a more "balanced" approach to helping congestion.

For Wall, new east-west roads would be a boon.

"In the city of Taylorsville, we're not anti-commuter rail or TRAX," he said "We just think they serve a certain portion of the population and certainly if used properly, can assist in some congestion mitigation. The fact of the matter is, the biggest problem we have is east-west travel."

Information about each of the UTA rail lines is available at: rideuta.com under the tab that says "projects/programs." The Utah Department of Transportation has information about a separate study of east-west roads in western Salt Lake County at: udot.utah.gov/slcountyeastwest.

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com