The harsh gray and rust of the railroad yards are blanketed by forgiving snow, bringing a brief beauty to the city's grimmest corner.
With $30.7 million, city bosses believe they can bring a lasting beauty to the city's west side that eclipses the memory of today's bleak yards and abandoned buildings.For the first time, the city has put a price tag and a deadline to the Gateway Project. Over the next 10 years, according to the plan, viaducts will be knocked down and railroads swept aside in favor of parks and gleaming new architecture nestled next to old buildings restored as condominiums, restaurants or art galleries.
"I want to see a high-density, exciting area that is a mix of commercial, housing, arts and entertainment," said Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini. "I haven't heard anyone say this is a bad idea. I think everyone feels it is the right thing to do. It could bring east and west Salt Lake City together."
The project hinges on consolidating three rail lines between 300 West and 600 West to one line on 600 West, freeing hundreds of acres for development. The three-block-wide strip starts at North Temple and goes south to 900 South.
The first phase is the costliest. The city needs $15 million to shorten three viaducts on 400 South, 500 South and 600 South and get rid of the rail spurs on 400 West and 500 West, sending trains instead to the main line on 600 West.
City officials have asked the Utah Department of Transportation to give the city $10 million of the needed $15 million. Their angle: If the viaducts are shortened, UDOT will spend $20 million less to rebuild them as part of the I-15 expansion project. City bosses want UDOT to give them half of the expected savings.
"UDOT is thinking about it," said deputy mayor Brian Hatch. Corradini is selling the idea to the public while Hatch continues to meet with UDOT officials.
The city already has more than $3 million in the bank from the federal government. If UDOT comes through, the city needs to raise nearly $2 million more to come up with the $15 million needed.
If the rail lines on 400 West and 500 West are erased, the 500 South and 600 South ramps going east from I-15 will be much shorter, touching ground at 500 West when they are rebuilt, instead of 300 West and 200 West, respectively, as they do now. The 400 South ramp now runs from 300 West to 800 West. With two rail spurs swept away, the ramp could touch ground at 500 West, allowing the city to pull down three blocks of viaducts that darken the west side.
The city must sign contracts for rail consolidation work on Nov. 1, the first deadline for the five-year project. The first part of phase one should be completed by 1999, Hatch said.
The second part of phase one requires rebuilding the 900 South viaduct, bringing it to ground at 400 West instead of West Temple. That would be done in 2000 or 2001, Hatch said.
Phase two would be completed in time for the 2002 Winter Games. The chief charm of the second phase would be to move the Union Pacific South yard on the northwest corner of 400 West and North Temple. Moving the yard would free 55 acres for development just west of the Delta Center and Triad Center.
The city hopes wiping out the yard would drive up real estate values there. "Land values on the east side of 500 West are around $25 a square foot. Across the street, across the street they are between $1 and $5 a square foot," Hatch said.
Union Pacific wants to develop the land, possibly putting a hotel there, he explained. Corradini would like to put her proposed 28-acre Centennial Park in the area.
Other land would also open up for development as businesses that rely on train transport moved west to be closer to the main line after the two spurs to the east are gone.
Real estate values in the west part of town have already been climbing, driven by popular gathering points like the Delta Center and the absence of any other developable land in the city. The only new places to build are the stern blocks of viaducts and railroads to the west.
Most of the project would be finished in time for the Games. But some parts of phase three wouldn't be completed for 10 years.