The Utah Transit Authority's board of trustees approved a deal Thursday morning that allows $185 million to change hands between UTA and Union Pacific and gives UTA properties to expand Utah's transit system.
Two of the 11 board members present voted against the deal. The board spent several hours Wednesday night and Thursday morning discussing it.
UTA was expected to sign the deal with Union Pacific late Thursday morning.
The board approved two resolutions, one to purchase the right of way and the other to direct UTA staff to bond to raise the money to do so.
The second resolution passed unanimously.
"What we're putting in place today will be used for transportation purposes for decades as we develop a truly multi-modal system," said UTA general manager John Inglish.
The purchase from Union Pacific includes 175 miles of railroad right of way and properties for future commuter rail, light-rail expansion and a trails system.
UTA will receive the mainline Union Pacific corridor between Payson and Brigham City. The agency plans to use existing Union Pacific tracks from Brigham City to Ogden and build its own tracks inside the corridor from Ogden to Salt Lake City, with the line eventually extending to Payson.
Also included in the deal are corridors for the mid-Jordan line through Midvale, West Jordan and South Jordan and a possible Sugar House line from South Salt Lake to southeast Salt Lake City.
UTA will also acquire three facilities totaling 140 acres in Clearfield and North Salt Lake. The properties may be used as maintenance, operating or passenger facilities. Another 25 parcels adjacent to corridors may be used for passing tracks, future passenger facilities or joint development.
The acquisition illustrates UTA's commitment to Davis, Weber and Salt Lake County voters who voted to increase sales taxes a year ago to implement a long-range transportation plan, said UTA spokesman Kris McBride.
Inglish said the purchase is bigger than UTA initially thought it would be.
"The public entrusted UTA with additional funds to implement a 20-year transportation plan, and we intend to deliver," he said.
Inglish thanked Gov. Michael Leavitt for "starting this whole thing in motion." Leavitt made the initial call to Union Pacific that got the ball rolling. In March 2001, Leavitt also certified transportation funds for both the Legacy Parkway project and the rail-corridor preservation project. At that time, he said Davis County transportation problems could not be addressed with a single solution and stressed the need for both highway and transit options.
E-mail: lculler@desnews.com