SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is ready to move the world again.
The Utah Transit Authority says it has ambitious plans to expand and redesign transit in Utah by the possible 2034 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
“This investment is for Utah,” said UTA executive director Jay Fox.
By 2034, there will be a new Orange Line of the TRAX running from the airport to the University of Utah. The Blue Line will also go all the way to the airport. Forty new fully accessible light rail cars will replace old ones on the FrontRunner.
“This transportation system goes well beyond the Olympics,” said Fox. “We're going to be riding a 15-minute frequency, 80-mile commuter railroad that will ultimately extend north up to Brigham City and south down to Payson.”
During the meeting with IOC officials aboard a TRAX train, they discussed sharing operators and mechanics with Los Angeles so both cities have well-staffed transit.
“2034 for us is not about success for the region,” he said. “Of course, we want that. We want our region to be as successful as possible. But it's about success for the Olympics, and so for us, that begins in ‘28. It begins in supporting our country in the Summer Olympics.”
Fox said that while we all know the likelihood of Utah getting the Olympic bid for 2034 is very high, all these future transit plans will still happen even if for some reason it doesn’t come through.
“We return on our operating capital $5.11 on every dollar invested,” he said. “Transit is not a cost. It is an investment.”
