Provo Mayor Lewis Billings has struck a deal with the Federal Aviation Authority to bring radar functionality to the city's airport.

The agreement, which the Municipal Council approved Tuesday night, provides for half of the $4 million cost to be furnished by state and local governments and the other half by the FAA.

The system to be installed is not technically radar technology, but a "Beacon Interrogator-6" -- a less expensive system that tracks planes up to 9,000 feet by communicating with on-board transponders, said Provo Chief Administrative Officer Wayne Parker.

"It's not your traditional radar, but it is a system that's deployed all over the country," he said. "It's an affordable cost. It will meet all the requirements that we have, and it will meet them for some time to come."

The technology has been needed for several years because Salt Lake City's radar capabilities are blocked by the Point of the Mountain, effectively blacking out plane traffic information below 9,000 feet in Utah Valley. That has led to long delays on Provo runways as air-traffic controllers visually track where planes are, Billings told the council.

"Right now, they're basically using a chalkboard and binoculars," he said. "There are times out there when it gets to be pretty rockin'."

The real issues have come on days when the weather has been bad, making visual confirmation difficult -- especially since a 10-mile clearance is needed to safely take off, Parker said.

"Planes that are landed at the Provo airport and want to take off have huge delays because traffic controllers can't see them," he said.

The negotiation process has not been easy, Parker said. The FAA was reluctant to approve any new radar systems or comparable technology because it's experimenting with new systems that may replace them in a few years. City representatives had to travel to Washington, D.C., to plead their case before the FAA acquiesced.

"Around the country, they've kind of put radar on hold a little bit. The city and UDOT [Utah Department of Transportation] and others went to the FAA and said, 'Here's all these reasons why we think we need radar in Utah County and what can be done,' " he said. "There have been a number of air traffic accidents that could have been prevented had there been a radar system in Utah Valley."

Finally, the FAA agreed -- provided that Provo could raise the first $2 million for the project. City administrators got to work and secured $1 million through the UDOT's Aeronautics Division, $500,000 from the county, and $500,000 from the Mountainland Association of Governments.

There was discussion about putting the system at the Point of the Mountain or in other locations, but Provo was ultimately chosen because facilities already existed from a temporary radar system installed for the 2002 Winter Olympics, Parker said.

"Its location at the Provo airport is convenient, because we have a pad that's ready for it," he said.

City spokeswoman Helen Anderson said the final deal should be signed next week, and the system should be operational by the end of 2010.

• Ace Stryker can be reached at 344-2556 or astryker@heraldextra.com.