FrontRunner expansion faces $564M funding shortfall
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Utah is more than half a billion dollars short on funding for its planned FrontRunner expansion.
Why it matters: State officials need to close that gap to keep the project on track ahead of the 2034 Olympic Winter Games.
Driving the news: At a Transportation Interim Committee hearing Wednesday, Josh Van Jura, UDOT's trails and transit director, said the $3.2 billion FrontRunner 2X project has a $564 million funding shortfall.
State of play: The project would add a second track to portions of the 83-mile commuter rail line, allowing trains to run every 15 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes during off-peak hours by 2031.
- The expansion would also introduce Sunday service and add a new Bluffdale station near The Point development.
The big picture: State transportation officials have said the project is needed to keep up with the state's fast-growing population, which is projected to increase by more than 2 million people by 2060.
Catch up quick: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approved nearly $1.3 billion for the expansion in August, but Van Jura said a final funding agreement isn't expected until late 2027.
- The shortfall is unrelated to the delay in federal funding.
- Van Jura said UDOT initially requested just over $2 billion from the FTA — about 70% of the project's cost.
What they're saying: "The disappointing fact on this is that we were hoping to get more federal funds so that the state wouldn't have to put any more money in," the committee's chair, state Rep. Kay Christofferson (R-Lehi), said at the hearing.
- "I think it's something that we need to look at hard and look at cutting other expenses," he said.
- Van Jura did not mention other potential sources of funding during the presentation.
UDOT spokesperson John Gleason tells Axios the agency has not secured the additional funding and is still exploring other options.
What's next: Construction is expected to begin next year once the FTA agreement is finalized.