Risky Business on Utah Transit Authority’s FrontLines

This paper describes how the FrontLines 2015 Project will construct 70 miles of track in 7 years that will expand the transit service and options along the Wasatch Front in Utah. It consists of the Commuter Rail South (Provo to Salt Lake) line and four light rail Transit (LRT) lines —Mid-Jordan, Draper, West Valley, and Airport. The commuter rail line is a 45-mile extension of the Commuter Rail North (Pleasant View to Salt Lake City) line, which opened April 2008. All of the light rail lines will be extensions of, or from, the existing North-South line. Mid-Jordan is a 10.6 mile line to the southwest part of the Salt Lake Valley. The Draper line extends the North-South line an additional 3.7 miles south. The West Valley line is a new 5.5 mile connection to the western part of the valley. The Airport line will connect downtown Salt Lake City 5.9 miles to the airport in the northwest portion of the valley. Though consisting of five lines, it is a single project in the view of Utah Transit Authority (UTA) because all of the lines are interrelated, and the funding mechanisms are based on the total cost, not individual lines. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) provides 80% of the cost of the Mid-Jordan and Draper lines, which equates to approximately 20% of the entire project. The Mid-Jordan and Draper lines will conform to all federal requirements and undergo Project Management Oversight (PMO) throughout their period. The Commuter Rail South, West Valley, and Airport lines are being constructed fully with local funding sources. The locally funded lines will have external oversight by a Strategic Management Oversight Consultant retained by UTA.