SALT LAKE CITY — What began as residents showing FOX 13 News the damage on a pedestrian bridge at Cottonwood Park ended with Salt Lake City announcing Monday that the bridge will now close because of safety concerns.
While we were reporting at Cottonwood Park after multiple west-side residents raised concerns about the bridge’s condition, Salt Lake City’s Public Lands Department said it conducted a further review of the structure and determined the crossing is no longer safe for public use.
The bridge crosses the Jordan River and serves as one of the quickest access points to Cottonwood Park’s dog park, making it a daily route for dog owners, joggers and nearby residents.
Before the city’s decision, residents walked us across the bridge, pointing out cracked boards, loose planks and visible damage across portions of the aging structure.
“This piece right here… you can see that it’s very loose,” resident Karen Nunez said while pointing to one of the boards beneath her feet. "Like that — it just went down."
Nunez said her foot nearly slipped through the bridge decking during a recent visit.
“Scared the hell out of me,” she said.
Other residents said the bridge’s condition is not new.
“I’ve lived here for two years, and it’s always been like this,” one nearby resident said. “For a while, it was completely blocked off. You had to walk all the way around.”
Residents said when the bridge was previously fully barricaded, some park users had to walk through surrounding neighborhoods or use another crossing farther down the trail to reach the dog park.
Laura Wilson, another regular at the park, said crossing the bridge had become increasingly unsettling.
“Every day I walk: 'Is this the day I go into the river? I don’t know,'” Wilson said.
In a statement sent to FOX 13 on Sunday afternoon, Salt Lake City’s Public Lands Department said the larger Cottonwood Park bridge sustained significant damage after a tree fell onto the structure in 2023.
According to the city, temporary repairs were completed in fall 2024 to restore short-term access while officials evaluated longer-term options.
But after a more recent inspection, city officials said the bridge has now reached “the end of its useful life.”
“Although one side of the bridge remained open, following further inspection, it has been determined to close the bridge due to safety concerns,” the department said in its statement.
Public Lands said the city is now working with Salt Lake City’s Engineering Division on a full replacement bridge. A structural engineering firm has already been contracted to complete the design work.
City officials said approximately $400,000 is currently available toward the project, but a full replacement is expected to cost about $1.5 million.
The remaining funding is expected to come through Salt Lake City’s General Obligation Parks Bond, with funding allocation anticipated in summer 2026.
Until a replacement bridge is built, Salt Lake City officials said visitors should use the southeast bridge to access the dog park. They did not provide a construction start date for the replacement project.
