Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Spring in Salt Lake City means potholes to avoid and construction at Temple Square, Sugar House, the Avenues and more.
Urban Living
Posted By Babs De Lay on April 3, 2024, 4:00 AM
In the past six weeks, I've had three flat tires from driving around downtown. And each time, my hero "Joey" at Burt Brothers Tires has pulled a long sheet rock screw out of my tire.
This maddening fact is due to the massive amount of construction downtown. Between the awful potholes and the detritus on the streets from all the construction going on in Salt Lake City, I might want to tell you all to avoid the area!
Yes, the Latter-day Saint Temple is under construction and the east and west sides of the Temple Square block are ingress and egress for supply trucks, cranes and a myriad of workers. The previous visitors' centers have been torn down. The area where the North Visitors Center was located is now going to be turned into a reflective garden and the South Visitors Center is becoming an all new above-and below-ground facility for new guest experiences.
Go east a block and you'll see that the Lion House is fenced off, as it is now having some upgrades done to address structural deficiencies, preserve aging finishes and to replace outdated mechanical systems. It's been closed since 2020 and the Beehive House will close April 8. The Joseph Smith Memorial Building is also undergoing similar work and all three buildings will re-open in 2025. The Church Office Building Plaza and neighboring Main Street Plaza are also being fluffed up, though Main Street Plaza recently reopened for pedestrians.
The Beehive House (yup, there's a beehive sculpture on the top of the building) was built in 1854 as Brigham Young's primary residence until his death in 1877. The same year the Beehive House was finished, Young began construction on another home next door where he installed a 1,200-pound stone sculpture of a lion (thus the name).
But city construction goes far beyond Temple Square. Here's the streets scheduled to go under the bulldozer this summer: 300 North (from 300 West to 1000 West), 2100 South in Sugar House (from 700 East to 1300 East), Virginia Street (from South Temple to 11th Avenue), West Temple (from North Temple to 400 South) and 1300 East (from 2100 South to 3300 South). Most of those streets need ADA ramps, better bike lanes, new curbs, gutters and sidewalks. I'm not sure how the city will update Virginia Street as it's pretty narrow, but the plan is to have a continuous sidewalk on the west side, uphill bike lanes, traffic calming elements and improved bus stops.
Finally, remember it's Spring in Utah! That means you can golf or bike to the Great Salt Lake one day in sunny weather and the next day it will snow and you'll be heading to the slopes. Spring brings out the worst potholes throughout our town and we will all be cursing what they do to our cars and bikes until they are filled. The city likes to spend about three weeks each spring having a "Pothole Palooza" to put extra focus toward repairing these street hazards.
About The Author
Babs De Lay
A full-time broker/owner of Urban Utah Homes and Estates, Babs De Lay serves on the Salt Lake City Historic Landmark Commission. A writer and golfer, you'll find them working as a staff guardian at the Temple at Burning Man each year.
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