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As the nine-year anniversary of TRAX approaches, the Utah Transit Authority is picking up speed on expansion.
TRAX debuted in Dec. 1999 and added commuter rail last spring. In a couple of weeks, UTA will break ground on the Airport TRAX Line. By 2015, the system will reach many more people on the Wasatch Front. Seventy miles of new rails in seven years; that's the plan for UTA by 2015.
If recent demand is any indication of interest, plenty of Utahns are eager to start riding the rails.
Michael Allegra, chief capital development officer for UTA, says, "We've seen double-digit increases in ridership. This month over last year, we're up almost 20 percent on bus and rail."
FrontRunner started service in the spring, linking 45 miles and seven stations to the existing TRAX system in the Salt Lake Valley. But, the expansion is just getting started. Four more lines are under construction and one other is getting close to a groundbreaking.
The West Valley TRAX Line started in June. Workers are tackling the most challenging segment near the spaghetti bowl.
The airport line will be under construction before the end of the month. Both extensions greatly improve transit options in the northern half of the Salt Lake Valley.
The mid-Jordan line started in May. Work continues near Gardner Village and construction on the Draper line should begin next spring.
As for FrontRunner south, construction started in August.
Allegra says, "All five lines will open at about the same time in the next three to four years. We're juggling contracts around to maximize efficiency. We'll see all of those open in at least the next five years."
By the end of the year $400 million will have been spent on the five lines, nearly $1 billion more has been obligated for contracts.
Wednesday, UTA will hold a public meeting on the Draper Transit Corridor project.
It will be at:
Skaggs Catholic Center
300 East 11800 South, Draper
7:30 p.m.
E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
