WASHINGTON -- Its construction tore up Salt Lake City's Main Street for nearly two years. It was controversial enough at first that voters rejected a sales tax hike to help pay for it.
But congressional researchers say the TRAX light-rail system has a truly nifty distinction: It is the only one of 14 new major federal mass transit systems now under construction that is expected to be completed both early and under budget.That's according to the U.S. General Accounting Office, a research arm of Congress.
The chairmen of four House and Senate subcommittees that oversee transportation asked the GAO to review the status of the nation's 14 major transit projects with "full-funding" agreements.
In such agreements, the administration agrees to fund up to 80 percent of total project costs and to request funds for them in annual budgets until they are completed.
The GAO found that six of the 14 are significantly over the budgets set in their original full-funding agreements -- some up to 34 percent.
Among the eight that are not over budget, three -- including TRAX -- are expected to possibly cost less than expected.
But the other two -- light-rail lines in Portland, Ore., and Jersey City, N.J. -- are expected to be completed after their original target dates.
That leaves the 15-mile TRAX line between Salt Lake City and Sandy as the only project among the 14 expected to come in under budget and be completed earlier than anticipated.
"This project could cost $23.53 million less than the original baseline estimate," the GAO wrote about TRAX. Also, the Utah Transit Authority announced last week it hopes to open the line on Dec. 4 -- 13 months earlier than originally projected.
The positive report comes at a good time for UTA, which is seeking money from Congress to build a 2.5-mile university TRAX extension from Main Street and 400 South to Rice-Eccles Stadium.
"We certainly think that our track record, no pun intended, will show that we're capable and competent at building a large-scale capital investment project," said Mike Allegra, UTA's director of transit development.
"It (the GAO report) certainly bodes well for what we've done so far, and I suspect that would translate to future appropriations."
The GAO said reasons for reduced costs include "favorable construction bids at the outset of the project, the early procurement of vehicles already in production through another grantee (the San Diego Trolley), the reduction of the project schedule by one year and the fact that federal funds have been provided in accordance with the funding schedule in the grant agreement."
It said that federal and UTA officials are negotiating using unspent money for improvements to the project.
"For example, UTA hopes to widen single-track bridges to double-track and purchase additional vehicles to handle the increased traffic generated by special events," the GAO said.
Those bridges are located above State Street and above I-215. UTA also wants to double-track the half-mile entrance to its maintenance facility in Midvale.
The agency also is negotiating with the Federal Transit Administration to spend some of the savings on 11 additional light-rail vehicles. That would allow UTA to operate three-car trains, carrying more passengers more comfortably. UTA already has 23 vehicles for TRAX, enough to operate two-car trains as often as every 7.5 minutes during peak hours.
Since GAO investigators visited the Salt Lake area four months ago, UTA has spent some of that $23.53 million cushion. The project is now only about $10 million under budget. Some money was used to speed up construction work so the system could debut in early December.
Meanwhile, some other major transit projects have been less lucky than TRAX.
For example, the Tren Urbano rapid rail line in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is projected to be 34 percent over budget and 10 months behind in construction because of higher-than-estimated contract costs, and expansion of the project's scope including adding two stations.
Also, the South Boston Piers transitway project is 28 percent over cost and two years behind in construction because of construction delays and modification of original design.
And an expansion of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system to the San Francisco International Airport is 27 percent over budget because of higher-than-expected construction costs.