North Temple Project Underway

New bridge is part of a much-anticipated mass transit project

The North Temple Bridge in Salt Lake City will be rebuilt from 450 West to 600 West to accommodate two lanes of traffic in each direction. A two-month demolition process on the bridge began in May.

The change will allow for a sidewalk and bike path in each direction, as well as space for a new TRAX light-rail track that will connect Salt Lake International Airport to downtown Salt Lake City.

Funding for the $71-million project came from multiple sources. The Utah Transit Authority contributed $25 million, and $20 million came from the Utah Legislature. Other sources included the Wasatch Front Regional Council, $5 million; two special taxing districts, $16.5 million; and Salt Lake City, $4.5 million.

The project�s TRAX portion is expected to cost between $250 million to $290 million, depending on final configuration and street improvements.

In addition to providing mass transit access to the airport, the addition of the TRAX line on North Temple will bring with it a �park strip� that will make the line more visually appealing from 600 West to Interstate 80. It also brings back a little of the past, when North Temple was lined with trees and was the location of a trolley car route in the early 1900s.

�The airport line was originally conceived as part of the university line,� says Gerry Carpenter, UTA project representative and spokesman. When the university line was built, funding allowed only for an extension from the University of Utah to downtown, and the completion date for the airport line was moved to 2030.

Then in 2006, a bill was passed to accelerate the airport line project, Carpenter says.

The six-mile TRAX portion of the project includes five stations along North Temple and one station at the airport. The initial construction included walls and guideway excavation.

The bridge is part of the larger TRAX project, and UTA and its contractors are responsible for the viaduct construction. The original plan was to build an adjacent structure for the TRAX line, but by rebuilding the viaduct, UTA is �able to integrate the TRAX line into the [rebuilt] structure,� Carpenter says.

The bridge project is expected to take 18 months. Construction on the bridge should be complete by the end of 2011, and UTA hopes to complete the TRAX portion by 2013.