FrontRunner South could be delayed

The opening date for the 44-mile FrontRunner commuter rail connecting Salt Lake and Utah counties could be pushed back six months to save money, according to the Utah Transit Authority.

Construction is still on schedule for the FrontRunner South line into Utah County, because the agency recognized that construction costs tend to rise with time, and delays would only be more costly, said UTA spokeswoman Carrie Bohnsack-Ware. But after construction is finished, the trains will not pull into Utah County until 2013, instead of mid-2012, which is the date UTA originally announced when it broke ground on the line Aug. 12.

Fares only cover 17 percent of the cost of maintenance and operations. Most of the money comes from sales tax, which has been low recently. If that sales-tax trend were to continue, the agency would have to spend more money on subsidizing the maintenance and operations costs, Bohnsack-Ware said.

"By pushing it back by six months, like we're doing, it will save $10 million over all the projects," she said.

By opening FrontRunner South in 2013 instead of 2012, Bohnsack-Ware said, the initial costs associated with opening and operating the commuter-rail line will be reflected in the 2013 budget year, instead of the 2012 budget year. UTA's budget years are calendar years.

UTA receives the majority of its funding from the sales tax in the counties and cities in which it operates. In recent years, UTA has received increases in the sales-tax revenues of about 4.5 percent. With the economy's slowdown, the quasi-private, quasi-public organization could see a $14 million loss in sales-tax revenues in 2008.

On Wednesday, a UTA subcommittee met and discussed a future with only 1-2 percent increases in the sales tax. The UTA Board of Trustees meets Oct. 21 to vote on approving the recommendation for FrontRunner South.

In addition to extending FrontRunner into Utah County, UTA is building TRAX light-rail lines to Draper, West Valley City and the Salt Lake City International Airport, as well as a Mid-Jordan line through Murray, Midvale, West Jordan and South Jordan.

UTA plans to open the TRAX lines to the airport and Draper ahead of schedule, with the airport line slated to begin operation as early as 2012 and the Draper line by 2014. TRAX operating expenses are less expensive, Bohnsack-Ware said.

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E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com