Utah Transit Authority begins streetcar double-track project

The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) this week launched a $6 million project to add a section of double track along the S-Line streetcar.

The agency plans to install the track between the 300 East to 500 East stops in South Salt Lake. After the project is completed, UTA will be able to run streetcars every 15 minutes instead of every 20, according to an agency press release.

UTA held a groundbreaking for the project earlier this week. The work is slated for completion in early 2019.

"The increased frequency will help the S-Line keep pace with the rapidly developing neighborhoods surrounding it," UTA officials said in the release.

Since the streetcar line opened in December 2013, South Salt Lake and Salt Lake City's Sugar House neighborhood have experienced "significant growth," they added. More than 1,000 residential units and more than 2 million square feet of redevelopment have been added to the area.

Salt Lake County and the Wasatch Front Regional Council are providing funds for the double-track project. UTA secured $4.5 million in funding from Salt Lake County in July 2017.