The Municipal Council on Tuesday authorized Mayor Lewis Billings to sign an agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration to install radar at Provo Municipal Airport. The radar installation, which will fix a blind spot in Salt Lake City's air traffic-control system, will be operational by the end of 2010.

"This is one thing that seemed impossible to achieve," Billings said Wednesday of Provo's difficulty in getting the system.

Even having to wait an extra 18 months is not a problem, he said. The city was initially told it could take up to three years to make the system operational.

Utah County sits in a "radar shadow" created by the mountains to the north. That means aircraft flying below 9,000 feet disappear from radar screens serving Salt Lake City International Airport.

This forces controllers at Provo's airport to visually track aircraft and delay takeoffs until there is a 20-mile gap in traffic. The airport serves recreational and commercial pilots, as well as Utah Valley State College's aviation program.

FAA spokesman Mike Fergus said Provo will receive an "interrogator radar system," which reads an airplane's transponder to identify it to traffic controllers, as well as pinpoint its position. Fergus said construction is scheduled to begin early next year. The delay is due to federal budget constraints and prioritizing radar requests for airports, Fergus said.

In late 2007, the FAA approved Provo's request for the $4 million radar system, with the stipulation that local officials provide $2 million. The Legislature voted to contribute $1 million, with Utah County kicking in $500,000. Provo, with assistance from Mountainland Association of Governments, made up the difference.

Under the agreement, the city will pay $500,000 within two weeks. About $1 million is due by the end of September, and the balance expected within a month of when construction begins.

dmeyers@sltrib.com