From the start, UTA prepared for worst-case scenarios by withholding substantial reserves and setting low construction budgets for each line. Working with the lower budgets encouraged project teams to identify cost-saving measures and devise creative solutions, Allegra says.

One solution was the use of structural geofoam over traditional fill materials. Because geofoam does not require long settlement times and its light weight helps ease installation, the program accelerated construction of several bridge approaches and viaducts. For example, the airport light rail extension shaved two years from its time line by using geofoam for the large bridge embankment, which is touted as the largest continuous section of geofoam in the U.S.

Additionally, geofoam's light weight eliminated the need for large, intrusive earth-moving equipment in these often heavily trafficked areas, thereby aiding UTA in its mission to reduce disruption to area businesses and residents whenever possible.

Instead of having multiple management teams for the five different sections, the UTA kept management costs down by selecting Parsons Brinckerhoff to serve as program manager for the entire program.

The collaboration gave way to a program structured with as few contracts as possible and employing both design-build and CM/GM delivery methods, says Kevin Cox, FrontLines program manager for PB.

Keeping the quality of work paramount, UTA and PB utilized a best-value process rather than low bid to select contractors for three construction packages on the five projects.

"The best-value selection process allows us to select construction partners who share our vision and commitment to the communities we serve," Allegra says. "We invite our project contractors to sit down with the design team long before the design is done, and we encourage everyone to work together to chart out how we're going to get the job done and manage the resources efficiently."

To encourage collaboration and innovation, UTA moved the entire program team, nearly 400 people, into one central office in Salt Lake City, Allegra says.

"UTA genuinely believes in the value of their transit projects, and they want to be intimately involved in problem solving. In their eyes any challenge that arises is one-sided because we're all partners, working as one team toward one goal," says Spencer Cruse, project manager with a joint venture of Kiewit/Herzog/Parsons, the design-build team behind the Draper and Mid-Jordon lines.

Leading by Example

Staying on track for completion by 2015 meant that the UTA had to get the project started as quickly as possible and minimize construction delays. That meant securing rights-of-way from 1,350 property owners along the five rail lines—a process that often involved borrowing authority from local governments and UDOT, procuring multiple property appraisals, negotiating settlements with owners and, in some cases, modifying designs. The International Right of Way Association recognized the UTA's management and diplomacy in the process, naming the FrontLines 2015 program as the project of the year for 2010.

The program's success so far is a testament to UTA's "transparent and respectful" management style, according to Clayton Gilliland, project manager with Stacey-Witbeck, CM/GC for three of the new rail lines.

"UTA leads by example. They roll up their sleeves and coordinate the work to everyone's benefit. They demand that everyone on the team focus on the project. As a result, we don't waste any time or energy battling one another and instead put everything we have into battling the project," Gilliland says.

Good planning and strong investment have enabled the UTA to grow a versatile transit system that has earned multiple industry honors, including three Transit System of the Year awards from the American Public Transportation Association and two Innovation awards from the American Public Transportation Association. Last year, a study by the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based policy nonprofit, looked at how well transit agencies in the nation's top 100 metro areas connect people and jobs, and gave top rankings to three of UTA's service areas—Salt Lake metro (#3), Provo-Orem (#9) and Ogden-Clearfield (#11).