North Temple bridge demolition begins

SALT LAKE CITY — Shortly after business and community leaders pleaded with the public Tuesday to continue to patronize North Temple businesses, construction crews began demolition of the street's iconic traffic bridge, limiting access to the city's west side for the next roughly 18 months.

For the next two months, crews will demolish the bridge, which took vehicles over railroad tracks along North Temple from 350 West to 600 West.

During the remaining time, crews will rebuild the bridge with some changes:

The bridge will span from about 450 West to 600 West, leaving a block open for development.

It will accommodate two lanes of vehicle traffic in each direction instead of three.

The bridge will have a sidewalk and bike path in each direction.

It will include a light rail track for a new TRAX line connecting downtown to the Salt Lake City International Airport.

"First-class cities have mass transit to the airport," Lt. Gov. Greg Bell said at Tuesday's event. "And that's what this project does."

North Temple will change with light rail construction. From 600 West to I-80, the Utah Transit Authority will create a "park strip" with native plants to make the area more visually appealing, harking to the past. In the early 1900s, North Temple was lined with trees and had a trolley car route, said JT Martin, a Salt Lake City councilman.

As the area is redeveloped, "it really will be the centerpiece for the west side of Salt Lake City," Mayor Ralph Becker said.

The bridge will cost $71 million — with about $25 million from UTA, $20 million from the Utah Legislature, $5 million from the Wasatch Front Regional Council, about $16.5 million from two special taxing districts and the remaining roughly $4.5 million from Salt Lake City.

"Ninety percent of the construction demolition and rebuilding of this project will be done with local contractors," UTA acting general manager Mike Allegra said.

While the bridge is closed, drivers and pedestrians can take 400 South, 200 South, 300 North or 600 North to get to the west side of town.

Dennis McElroy, managing director of the Howard Johnson Express Inn, 121 N. 300 West, expects business will drop. McElroy is working with the construction team and UTA to "think outside the box" and "to drive people in our hotel and our Subway (sandwich) shop."

Lucy Cardenas, owner of the Red Iguana Mexican restaurant, said the existing bridge is an eyesore. She hopes the result of the construction will bring more people to the west side and into her restaurant.

And during construction? Cardenas described herself as optimistic.

"We're going to do our best," she said.

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