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SALT LAKE CITY -- It's not always easy to take a long-term optimistic view when your current situation is one of serious struggle, but sometimes you have little choice.
Many business owners and managers along North Temple heading west to the airport find themselves in that very predicament -- and their bottom lines are suffering mightily.
"Our (lunchtime business) is down a thousand people a month," said Bill Coker, co-owner of the Red Iguana restaurant at 736 W. North Temple. "It's about $30,000 a month (in lost revenue)."
He said those lost dollars are tough to swallow, but there is not much that can be done until the project is finished.
Coker said some businesses have had to close their doors, while others are trying to stay afloat.
One such business, the Relax Nail Salon at 110 N. 900 West, has also seen a dramatic decrease in customer traffic.
"We usually have (about) 10 customers an hour, now we just have five or six," said manager Long Lam.
Both Lam and Coker said the decline began once the bridge at North Temple was closed last April. The new viaduct is scheduled to be in place and the road reopened this fall.
Within the next 18 month, Salt Lake's North Temple will take on a whole new look, well maybe not entirely new — something akin to what now exists on 400 South east of Main Street. The Utah Transit Authority is constructing a TRAX line along the major thoroughfare that will transport passengers from downtown all the way out to Salt Lake International Airport.
The $350 million extension is scheduled to be operational by 2013, according to UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter.
Businesses along the University TRAX corridor were impacted similarly during the time that light-rail construction was going on, he said.
"It has been challenging to the businesses on North Temple," Carpenter said. The majority of the businesses have been "very positive" and recognize that in the long run, they will benefit from the project, he added.
He noted that since the University TRAX project was completed, the area along 400 South has seen many businesses thrive.
Work on the Airport TRAX project is currently ahead of schedule and on budget, Carpenter said, but external factors could influence construction over the coming months.
The airport line is one of five rail projects UTA has on its construction agenda. The others include the $535 million Mid-Jordan TRAX extension, the $370 million West Valley TRAX line, the proposed $212 million Draper TRAX extension and the $850 million FrontRunner commuter-rail line that will run from downtown Salt Lake City to Provo.
"Our commitment has always been to have all of these extensions done by no later than 2015," Carpenter said. "In a better economy, we might be even further ahead of schedule."
Both the Mid-Jordan and West Valley light-rail lines are scheduled to begin operation in August, with the other lines expected to come online over the next two years, Carpenter said.
Meanwhile, businesses along the North Temple corridor will have to remain patient as construction continues for the next several months.
"Once the decision was made to do (the project) … I could tell it was a great idea and we were going to have to … take the brunt of that construction process," Coker said. "Eventually we're going to have greater property values and an entirely different culture on this side of the community."
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Story written by Jasen Lee with contributions from Keith McCord.
