UTA to close section of rail on South Temple for repairs, 9 days of slowdowns expected

SALT LAKE CITY — Part of South Temple in downtown Salt Lake City will be reduced to one lane for drivers and a section of rail will be closed from Saturday, June 29 until Sunday, July 7 as the Utah Transit Authority replaces old TRAX rails.

UTA has one more rail replacement project coming up in order to maintain high-quality rail infrastructure in Salt Lake City, according to a news release by UTA. The organization will be replacing the section of 20-year-old rail between the Temple Square and Arena TRAX stations on South Temple.

“(The purpose) is to take rail that’s old and showing some signs of wear and tear, and needing to make sure we replace those and get those taken care of so there aren’t any future problems,” Carl Arky with UTA said. “It’s maintaining the system.”

Work will be done on the project 24 hours a day, for nine days straight, in order to get the project done as quickly as they can, according to the news release. No stations will be altered, as the only changes being made will be the replacement of existing rails, Arky said.

Orange-vested UTA volunteers will be placed around Temple Square, Arena, City Center and North Temple stations to help manage traffic and assist riders in getting where they need to go, according to the news release. Other than a break between the Temple Square and Arena stations for Blue and Green TRAX lines, the trains will be running as usual.

“We’ll have bus shuttles and a FrontRunner shuttle,” Carl Arky explained, for those who need to use the train in that area. “For drivers, we’ll have a single lane of traffic going east and west on South Temple.”

He added that alternate routes might be better than driving on South Temple, especially during rush hour times. UTA offered some tips to help people get around amid the construction:

1. For drivers, South Temple will only be one lane between West Temple and 400 West, so North Temple and 100 South are encouraged for east-west travel.
2. For those that take the FrontRunner or are traveling from the airport, there will be a shuttle bus connecting North Temple Station and Temple Square Station.
3. Though there is only a short walk between Temple Square Station and Arena Station, for those who do not wish to walk or are unable to, there is a bus shuttle between them. For more specifics on traffic organization and updates on construction, visit UTA’s website. Arky added that the rail replacement is primarily just to keep on top of the quality of the TRAX infrastructure, and that changes like this will become necessary in other places as well if the rails show signs of aging.

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