After much grumbling, the Salt Lake City Council Thursday approved a financing plan that will allow three I-15 viaducts to be shortened in the Gateway area.
The council spent much of a two-hour meeting griping that the Utah Department of Transportation is saving $18 million by having the I-15 reconstruction contractor rebuild the three downtown freeway viaducts (400 South, 500 South and 600 South) two to three blocks shorter than they are now. Thus, the thinking went, UDOT should put up more of the $11.7 million needed to consolidate railroad tracks in the area - a prerequisite to the viaduct shortening.The Utah Transportation Commission earlier approved a $5.8 UDOT contribution to the rail consolidation, and Thursday morning approved an additional $2.9 million. That meant the city had to come up with $3 million which it did by postponing work it had planned for Pioneer Road.
The viaduct shortening will open up a 700-acre area (from, roughly, North Temple to 900 South and from 300 West to I-15) that can be redeveloped - the Gateway Area. The project is dear to the heart of Mayor Deedee Corradini.