FrontLines 2015
On 21 September 2006, a property tax hike proposal was replaced with a general transportation quarter-cent sales tax hike that was voted on and approved on November 7 of that year. On 21 December 2006, the Salt Lake County Council created a priority list for the sales tax, saying that TRAX and commuter rail should take priority. A letter of intent signed with the Federal Transit Administration on 24 September 2007 secured the remaining $500 million in funding for the light rail lines. This money will be used to finance the FrontLines 2015 expansion project, which will add four TRAX lines by 2015 (as well as an expansion to FrontRunner commuter rail).
In 2008, construction began on two new extensions: one through West Valley City (now part of the Green Line) and another through the southwest portion of the Salt Lake Valley (now part of the Red Line). Both extensions were debuted in ceremonial openings on 2 August 2011, and permanently opened for regular service on 7 August. Both extensions were completed ahead of schedule and under budget. Upon completion of these expansions UTA adopted a color-code line names in place of their old destination-based line names.
A line from Salt Lake City International Airport to the University of Utah was in the original plans for the system to be completed before the 2002 Winter Olympics, but funding shortages only allowed for the eastern portion to be constructed. The airport line did eventually come to fruition, however, and ground was broken on 22 October 2008. It will contain 6 additional stations, including a transfer station to FrontRunner. Completion of the six-mile (10 km) expansion will open 14 April 2013.
In order to support planned TRAX expansion, UTA ordered 77 Siemens S70 light rail vehicles from Siemens AG. It is the company's largest-ever light rail contract.
On 14 November 2006, the Draper City Council approved the TRAX extension into that city. Neighbors in the area have continually fought the route suggested by UTA. The route follows an old rail line and UTA already owned the right of way. An alternative route that would run down the middle of State Street was also studied by UTA. Use of the UTA right of way for the line was challenged in court and was later approved by the Utah Supreme Court on 12 July 2008. UTA published a draft Environmental Impact Statement for the new line that names the UTA right of way as the preferred route. Construction on the first phase of the extension, which will include three new stations, has begun and is expected to be completed by August 2013. A second phase will eventually extend the line further south to 14600 South (near I-15), but dates have yet to be announced regarding the constructions and completion of the second phase.
For several years a TRAX spur into the Salt Lake City neighborhood of Sugar House had been contemplated. A series of community meetings were held in Sugar House as part of a larger transit study undertaken by UTA. Several transit alternatives were presented to the neighborhood, including bus rapid transit, light rail, and a streetcar. The streetcar seemed to be the preferred alternative. On 20 October 2010, the Sugar House Streetcar line received a $26 million federal grant that would allow the street car to be completed in less than two years. It will use an existing rail line running along 2200 South from the Central Pointe TRAX Station to approximately 1100 East, near the primary Sugar House shopping district. The Sugar House Streetcar line is anticipated to open in late 2013.
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