One of the primary east-west thoroughfares in the far southern end of the Salt Lake Valley will close on Monday.
Bluffdale plans to close 14600 South at the one-way railway bridge, near 1000 West. The city will then spend the next 15 months or so straightening the road and expanding it, according to Mayor Natalie Hall.
“We will be actually moving the bridge south, and we will have two lanes going east and two lanes going west,” Hall told KSL-TV. “And we will also be adding on 10-foot pedestrian and bike lanes on the side as well.”
Hall said the city will use what’s known as “box jacking” to build a temporary bridge which allows trains to keep moving, while constructing a new underpass beneath the tracks and pushing it into place. The project is expected to be finished in early 2027, according to the mayor.
The state is funding much of the $77 million price tag, with the city contributing about $22 million toward it, Hall said.
The mayor said the total cost includes the project study — and the purchase of some private land for the project. However, Hall said Bluffdale “ended up working out an agreement” with the property owner, and eminent domain was not used to acquire that land.
The one-way railway bridge has often been the source of congestion for drivers in Bluffdale. Hall said around 11,000 vehicles pass through it every day. Once the project is finished, Hall said, the new road will accommodate many more vehicles, and the existing underpass will be filled in.
While 14600 South is closed, drivers trying to cross Bluffdale will have to take detours on Porter Rockwell Boulevard or Bangerter Highway.
“Everything is going to take an extra 15 or 20 minutes just to get around to the other side of the city,” Hall said.