SALT LAKE CITY — One million spectators may come to Utah for the 2034 Winter Olympics. Millions more Utahns will use the roads and rails before and after that.
The director of the Utah Department of Transportation told FOX 13 News about three projects in the works for 2034. We also spoke to someone pushing a rail project he hopes will make the podium.
Double tracking Frontrunner
Carlos Braceras, director of UDOT, calls this his No. 1 priority for 2034. Braceras and the Utah Transit Authority want to double the track – add new track next to the old – so Frontrunner trains can run twice as often, departures every 15 minutes.
It’s part of a broader, long-term commuter train plan for northern Utah. Braceras estimates the double tracking will cost $3 billion and is the only project listed here for which the state will seek federal money.
Kimball Junction
If you’ve taken Interstate 80 to or from Park City, you know this interchange has more bottlenecks than a hockey watch party.
Park City venues will host bobsled, luge, skeleton, ski jumping, Nordic combined, as well as snowboarding and freestyle skiing events. Braceras would like car traffic flowing like it’s on skis, too.
Watch: Why UDOT believes this $40 million project is the best option for Kimball Junction
“In 2002, we thought Park City area was busy,” Braceras said, referring to the last Olympics in Utah. “It's so much busier now.” Kimball Junction is where State Road 224, which leads to Park City, meets I-80. UDOT’s current proposal would add lanes – turn, through, bike – to the road.
Mountain Green
Snowbasin Resort will host alpine skiing in 2034. What Kimball Junction is to I-80 and Park City, the town of Mountain Green is to Interstate 84 and Snowbasin.
UDOT has a plan to eliminate the I-84 interchange on the southwest end of Mountain Green in favor of one that cuts through the center of town, offering a more direct route to Trappers Loop Road and beyond to Snowbasin.
And then there’s… Rio Grande
Take 300 South west through downtown Salt Lake City, past Pioneer Park, and you’ll pull into the old Rio Grande train station. It hasn’t had passenger service since 1999.
“The old Rio Grande depot is an amazing historic building,” said Christian Lenhart, a civil engineer serving on the board of the citizen group Via Rio Grande, “and it would be amazing if we could make it our transit station once again.” The group’s plan would connect Frontrunner, Trax, and Amtrak. It would also bury rail lines that currently run through downtown and divide the east and west sides of Salt Lake City.
Watch: Will the Rio Grande train station get back on the rails?
Salt Lake City government has expressed interest in the plan, but estimates it would cost up to $5 billion. A Utah State University study estimates the project could generate $12 billion in returns.
Thus far, no government agency has approved a final plan or promised the money.
“Olympics provide an amazing opportunity to accelerate the timeline,” Lenhart said. In December, then-Congressman-elect Mike Kennedy pledged to fight for federal funding for Olympic projects. No other member of Utah’s congressional delegation has been so vocal.
