LINDON -- Lindon City Council members have cleared a path for the Utah Transit Authority to start construction on city property for the FrontRunner commuter rail project. UTA will pay the city $322,000 for a 1.54-acre piece of land within the 17.64-acre site set aside for the future Geneva Resort Park, according to a "permit to enter and construct" agreement approved by the council this month.

"We feel it is a valid appraisal," said Adam Cowie, Lindon planning and development director.

The agreement allows UTA to remove an old fence, construct a new fence along the new property line and remove part of the asphalt on Utah Lake Trail that would be relocated eventually anyway to align with a future Utah County trail.

The deal precedes a required public hearing process to divest public property, according to a Lindon staff report.

"Lindon City gave us a 'right of entry' to begin some of the construction work on Lindon City property in advance of completing the formal purchase," said Carrie Bohnsack-Ware, UTA senior media relations specialist in an e-mail.

The city staff report indicated that UTA is expanding its right of way to accommodate new tracks and that the city does not anticipate any public concerns about the transaction.

City officials enthusiastically encouraged UTA to begin work as soon as possible after the agreement is signed.

"We'd like it [to start] the next day," said Ott Dameron, city administrator.

The FrontRunner project is a commuter rail system that extends from Ogden to Provo, intersecting with light rail, bus and commuter parking facilities.

"The project is being funded 20 percent federally and 80 percent locally; so when we talk about the budget, we have an overall budget of $2.85 billion, but it's not broken down line by line," Bohnsack-Ware said.

FrontRunner North, from Ogden to Salt Lake City, is complete and in operation. Utah County voters approved a 0.25-percent tax increase in November 2006 that put the southern project about 15 years ahead of schedule, according to UTA documents.

FrontRunner South service is expected to be up and running by late 2012, depending on the economy, with 74 trips per day running every half hour in both directions on two tracks, according to Steve Meyer, manager of engineering and construction for FrontRunner commuter rail.

"We are on schedule and budget. Our hard deadline to finish is 2015, but it looks like we will be way ahead of schedule and open closer to 2013," Bohnsack-Ware said.

Unlike UTA's TRAX light-rail system, which runs on electricity and has more frequent stops, FrontRunner trains are diesel-powered and the routes are designed for fewer stops to achieve top speeds of nearly 80 mph, Meyer said.

"The stations are five to seven miles apart so that the trains can get speeds up and be competitive [with interstate travel]," Meyer said.

The eight new stations that will be a part of the FrontRunner South line are: Murray (west of the existing Murray Central TRAX station), South Jordan, Draper/Bluffdale (future station), Lehi, American Fork, Vineyard (future station), Orem and Provo.

"One advantage to the communities we service is that we estimate 30-percent reverse travel," Meyer said.

FrontRunner South will also be good for university students and medical center patrons, Meyer said.

Related

• UTA to offer update on FrontRunner construction
• Work begins on FrontRunner station in Orem