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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah transportation officials say they are willing to apply again for a grant to study the feasibility of a restored rail corridor between Utah, Idaho and Nevada after a reported error in Idaho may have resulted in the federal government's decision to not fund the study the first time around.
Utah Department of Transportation leaders are slated to meet with the Federal Rail Administration later this week, which may help dictate the state's decision, said UDOT spokesman John Gleason.
"We'll have some more clarity after we have a chance to meet with the (rail administration) and determine the next steps forward," he told KSL.com Monday.
The update comes after BoiseDev, an Idaho business news outlet, reported on Thursday that the Idaho Transportation Department botched its application for a $500,000 Federal Rail Administration grant to study a rail corridor between Boise and Salt Lake City.
A spokesman for the agency told the site that an employee made a "mistake," sending the application to the Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program instead of the Corridor Identification and Development Program. It had applied on behalf of several other agencies, including UDOT and Salt Lake City.
"It was an honest mistake. We all make mistakes," the spokesman said.
The application was half of a coordinated effort to study the restoration of a passenger rail connection between Boise, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, which could have potentially brought back Amtrak's Desert Wind and Pioneer lines that were dropped in the 1990s. The error was identified shortly after the Federal Rail Administration didn't include either project in a round of funding announced in December.
Utah Senate President Stuart Adams said on Friday that he was "disappointed" by the mishap.
Related:
Plan linking Salt Lake City to Boise, Las Vegas by train hits 'disappointing' snag
It appears that a plan to restore commuter rail service between Boise, Idaho, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas may have to wait at least a little longer.It's unclear if the error cost all three states a shot at the study, though. UDOT applied to the program for the Salt Lake City to Las Vegas component of the plan and that didn't receive any funding. Gleason said the state was never given a reason why its application was denied, but that is something the agency hopes to learn more about this week.
UDOT officials initially cast doubt that the effort would resume after the Federal Rail Administration's decision. Gleason said there were "no current plans to move the study forward" at the time, but the mood has since changed.
BoiseDev reported that Idaho's transportation department was open to trying again, as interest in the study still exists.
Gleason confirmed that the Idaho agency has indicated a desire "to work together again" with UDOT on another application in the future. UDOT may file again for a Las Vegas study, especially if this week's meeting gives the agency a clearer idea of what it can do to receive the grant.
"We're always interested in looking at transportation solutions, and that's why we thought passenger rail deserved to be studied to see if it makes sense, if it's feasible," he said.
Salt Lake City transportation director Jon Larsen told KSL.com in December that the city would continue to find ways to study the idea because the rail corridors offer "tremendous potential."
Utah's transit future
While Adams said the flub is discouraging, he added Friday that Utah is looking for new transit options and transit improvements because there's a major need to address transportation concerns as the state grows. That includes more double-tracking of Utah Transit Authority's FrontRunner to increase its frequency and speed within the Wasatch Front.
He explained that the state is in conversations with Union Pacific and others to make that happen.
"We're not a third-world country, I hope. We're acting like, perhaps, we are with rail and we need to move faster. We need to double-track it, we need to electrify it. We need to do express trains," he said. "If you can get from Provo to Salt Lake in 20 minutes, you're going to ride the rail. If it takes you an hour and a half, you're going to drive your car."
In general, he said transit options need to be elevated "to another level" because the state doesn't have enough room to build another freeway at the Point of the Mountain, where a large chunk of Utah's growth is located.
There are other options on the table, such as extending UTA's TRAX lines beyond its current Draper terminus. UDOT released a plan in December on how it can potentially bring the light rail transit system to The Point project area. Sen. Kirk Cullimore, R-Sandy, added that there's still talk of extending it into Utah County one day.
These can help diversify the region's transportation options, especially along the long stretch of urban area between Weber and Utah counties.
"There's only so many roads we can build," Cullimore said. "We're going to continue to grow. And (if) we're going to do that, to maintain our quality of life, you've got to be looking at transit options."
