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SALT LAKE CITY--TRAX trains will roll out North Temple in the years ahead and forever change the look of the street. Below the pavement, through the manholes, we took a journey into the past where City Creek flows toward the Jordan River.
The creek provided pioneers their first source of water for drinking and crop irrigation. The Utah Transit Authority needs to determine whether it can leave the aqueduct as it is.
"We've got about a 600-foot section where the track would be directly over this pipe. So, we're trying to figure out, with the city and the county, the condition of the pipe and if it can handle the load of the train," said Matt Sibul, project manager for UTA' Airport Line.
The tunnel was built 100 years ago, in 1909. At 7 feet in diameter and more than 3 miles long, the concrete formed in place. Engineers say it must have been quite an accomplishment.
The aqueduct helped control high flows, which still rage through here in the spring. It goes underground in Memory Grove and collects storm run-off on the way to the Jordan River.
"The concrete is in very good shape for being 100 years old. There are some pitas and other things, but in general, it's in pretty good shape," Sibul said.
City Council member Carlton Christensen came along with KSL News for the tour. He likes history and expects knowledge of the creek will help him in future discussions of the development of North Temple--he also paddled a canoe into the tunnel from the Jordan as a teenager.
"The conduit is pretty flat, and you can actually float up from the river side," Christensen said. "I wouldn't recommend it to the kids at home, but we went as far as we dared, considering we didn't have any flashlights."
From the assessment, so far, UTA believes it may not have to do a thing to the creek.
"IT's not so much an issue of: Can the pipe hold up the train? It's more an issue of: If the pipe needs to be repaired in the future, we don't want to have to shut down our train line to get to it," Sibul said.
Aside from cosmetic showings downtown, City Creek will likely continue to flow out of sight under TRAX.
As for the Airport Line, you'll see more utility work in the months ahead. Next summer, you'll start to see rail bed and tracks under construction, with completion targeted for 2012.
E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
