The gondola would extend more than eight miles across the canyon in an attempt to ease traffic problems.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Snowbird’s proposed gondola stop is planned next to the Cliff Lodge along E. Bypass Road, below right in Little Cottonwood Canyon photo on Thursday, 20 October 2022.
The Utah Department of Transportation has made it official: It wants to build an eight-mile-long gondola up Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Record of decision of the UDOT, made public on Wednesday, means the department can officially move forward with the gondola plan, a decision years in the making. Construction of the gondola would likely take years to complete.
The agency released a preliminary plan last August that identified the gondola as the best solution to solving the canyon’s longstanding traffic problems. The decision prompted thousands of public comments, which UDOT reviewed before releasing the final decision Wednesday.
According to UDOT records released Wednesday, UDOT is taking a phased approach to cannon transportation. From this summer, the department will set the ball rolling to buy more buses, design mobility centers and start making toll plans in the canyon. The latest toll estimates could be around $25 to $30 in hopes of reducing traffic and encouraging carpooling.
Earlier this year, the Utah Legislature passed Senate Bill 2, which allocated $150 million for “enhanced bus service, tolling, a mobility center and tour bus stops for in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons,” according to the project language.
An updated cost estimate adjusted for inflation is included in the new decision record. Josh Van Jura, the UDOT project manager on the Little Cottonwood EIS, told The Salt Lake Tribune that the price has increased significantly due to inflation.
“The final implementation of ‘Gondola B’ just for ‘Gondola B’ is approximately $728 million (to build the gondola) with $4.4 million annually in operations,” Van Jura said Wednesday in the morning
This is breaking news that will be updated.
