Moving rails in Salt Lake underground is costly. Will new benefits report change the debate?

SALT LAKE CITY — The projected cost of an ambitious grassroots plan to move the railroad west of downtown Salt Lake City underground has loomed over most of the discussions regarding the project.

Leaders of the resident-led project, and local and state allies they've met along the way, say they believe a new economic benefits report will change the conversation.

The Rio Grande Plan, which could cost $3 billion to $5 billion or more to construct, has the potential to generate $12.3 billion in economic impacts, according to the Rio Grande Plan Economic Benefit Analysis released on Wednesday by researchers at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business Analytics Solution Center.

If the land currently covered by rails is redeveloped as proponents hope, it could spur billions in annual commercial output.

"We think that this is going to be one of the most impactful and meaningful projects in Salt Lake City," said Pedram Jahangiry, an assistant professor of data analytics and information systems at the center.

Calculating a major benefit

The Rio Grande Plan calls for the existing railroad corridor to be moved underground through a train box, from 400 North to 1300 South near downtown Salt Lake City. Advocates say doing so will improve safety and east-west connectivity because it removes interactions with trains. It could also open up about 75 acres of land for future redevelopment.

All of these potentials have helped the plan receive support from Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County in recent years.

The study used IMPLAN economic modeling to explore direct and indirect effects within various economic sectors tied to the plan, both during construction and afterward.

Researchers considered all the short-term impacts during construction, such as businesses buying materials or workers paying rent with wages. This is spread out over the estimated four to six years it could take to build the underground line, said Curtis Bishop, a graduate student in financial economics at Utah State University and one of the study's authors.

About 30% of the potentially redeveloped land would likely go toward transportation and other easements on the land, while half of it would go toward new housing and commercial space, per a previous Salt Lake City report. Potential land-use allocations were blended in with existing Census Bureau data and other datasets to generate some of the project's long-term economic values, he added.

The project has the potential to create about 51,800 jobs, many of which would come from construction. It could also produce $376 million in new state or local tax revenue. The new development could generate nearly $3.2 billion in annual commercial output and support about 13,600 jobs, per the report.

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New household income from the more than 2,500 possible new housing units and new visitor spending factor into the numbers, Curtis explained.

Those findings added one reason to back the plan for those who have already become supporters. Salt Lake County Councilwoman Lauri Stringham said it provides new numbers for long-term planning discussions.

"We oftentimes take a short-term, myopic view — put a dime in front of our view and say we can't afford it," she said. "But, really, can we not afford to take a look and miss the dollar out there with the dime out in front of our face?"

A large hurdle to clear

While supporters of the plan championed the report in a briefing with reporters on Wednesday, the sense of who wasn't in the room was also noticeable. The project has not received endorsements from top state leaders, state transportation officials or Union Pacific.

Rio Grande Plan organizers presented their vision to a legislative interim transportation committee last year, but it was met with mixed reviews. Some signaled concerns over cost, as well as impacts to rail service and the potential that it could spill out into roadways. Some questioned why the state was focusing on Salt Lake City development again after a pair of stadium bills passed earlier that year.

"There is a whole vast part of our state that is not getting the same love and attention," said Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, at the time, pointing to transit holdups in southwest Salt Lake County and overall investments in rural Utah. "It's hard to think that we need to bump this up to the top of the list."

Some members said it wouldn't hurt to study the idea further. Rep. Raymond Ward, R-Bountiful, also attended Wednesday's event to lend his support, arguing that it could help improve growing transportation challenges as downtown grows and becomes more dense, representing how some legislators have been won over.

Meanwhile, Union Pacific, Utah Transit Authority, and other railroad users have met with Salt Lake City officials, which led to the proposed train box, but rail leaders have yet to support it. That must be figured out for the plan to work, said Salt Lake City Councilman Alejandro Puy, who has met with Union Pacific over other railroad issues.

"Ultimately, even if (the city and county is) unified in the need for this, we still need the other pieces to fall into place, which is the state and Union Pacific," he said. "Those are the places where the conversations should go next."

Federal support is another major question mark. However, Rio Grande Plan supporters remain optimistic after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he wanted to invest in "great train transit projects," including ones with promising projections, during his visit to Salt Lake City earlier this month.

A potential turning point?

Supporters see the new study as a potential tool in their effort to carry out the project. It gives them more information to present the economic value of the plan, which they hope can tip the scales in favor of those on the fence.

It's an arduous task, but they also believe they could finalize everything before the 2034 Winter Olympics—if everything comes together soon. Frederick Jenny, one of the leaders of the Rio Grande Plan, said the group has already reached out to state leaders about more meetings to discuss the new numbers and how to make their bold plan a reality.

"We're hoping to — with these numbers — go back and say, 'We have the other half of the equation,'" he said. "A year ago, we only had the cost. Now we have the impact."

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