Grand Opening (900 West and Jordan River bridges) September 28, 2023

Please join the Parley’s Trail Coalition and other friends of the Trail for a Ribbon Cutting ceremony to officially open the new 900 West and Jordan River bridges. Thirty years of planning, fund raising, and construction to build a dedicated trail from Parley’s Canyon to the Jordan River are culminating in the opening of these last two bridges.

In the mood to ride the new trail? Bring your bike to Fairmont Park at 9:30 and join other trail enthusiast for a celebratory ride along the trail from Fairmont Park to the Jordan River. If you would prefer to drive, please refer to the map below for designated parking locations. Ceremony starts at 10:00.

Whatever your mode of transportation is, we encourage you to join us to celebrate this significant Trail milestone.

May 25th 2022 Grand "Air" Breaking

After decades of planning and construction, the last remaining “Big Piece” of the Parley’s Trail had an official “Air” Breaking on May 25th. A new portion of trail will connect with the existing Roper Rail Yard span, cross 900 West via a new bridge, and finally join the Parley’s Trail to the Jordan River Trail.

This almost $9,000,000 project would not have happened without tremendous support from the public along with many local jurisdictions and state agencies. Along with numerous city, county, and state leaders, PRATT would like to acknowledge the Salt Lake County Tourism Recreation Culture and Convention Support Program, Transportation Choice Funds, UDOT, Office of Regional Development, Utah Outdoor Recreation Grant, and the Zoo Arts and Parks programs. Additionally, PRATT would like to thank Senator Gene Davis for getting this project across the finish line.

The two new bridges are being constructed off-site and the entire project should be completed in the summer of 2023.

October 2021 Trail Updates

The Board of Directors, in cooperation with Salt Lake County and several local municipalities, continues to work on completing the last unfinished segments of the East/West portion of the trail. Salt Lake County will begin soliciting bids to complete the 900 West to Jordan River Trail section of the trail this month.

One initiative that has been well received and supported is the Goathead Removal Project. Many private citizens have joined the Board in working to control and eliminate the invasive goathead weed from the Trail’s edges. Tribulus terrestris (aka goatheads, puncture vine, or the apt Devil’s Weed) thrives in flat, dry areas. As it matures, it drops four-sided thorned seeds that are a scourge to feet, paws, and tires. Please consider adopting a small section of the Trail and help us defeat this menace.

Noxious weed meets its match: Dedicated Trail Supporter

Sugar House Park to receive functional yet beautiful art installation

Sugar House Park to receive functional yet beautiful art installation

Posted 6:19 pm, November 7, 2017, by Danica Lawrence

 

SALT LAKE CITY - A unique design project in Salt Lake’s Sugar House Park will be a functional piece of artwork, designed by an internationally known artist and engineer.

Patricia Johanson designed the Sego Lily Dam. It is a flood-prevention infrastructure that is beautifully designed to look like Utah’s state flower, the Sego Lily.

“What this project will do is the water will come right down Parley’s Trail,” explained Johanson as she was on site on Tuesday in Sugar House Park overseeing the construction. “You’ll see it all flow down by gravity, it will go under the pedestrian tunnel that is under 1300 East and then it will go down the slot canyon, which is the flood walls and spill way for the dam, and then at the end of that is Hidden Hollow and what you’ll see is the outfall. it’s just a lot of rocks and the water will go out of those rocks and it will go back into the creek. So the project is really designed to prevent major flooding. It’s totally unique. Every project I design is different. I think this is the wave of the future- is not to design infrastructure as huge hunks of concrete but to design them as parks and trails, wildlife habitat.”

The Sego Lily Dam is also a narrative. Johanson's design includes the mountain walls of the Wasatch and the Oquirrhs. Johanson said she studied the Mormon pioneer journals, as they found and settled in the Salt Lake Valley.

“The structures recount the story of the Mormon pioneers coming through Echo Canyon, which is the slot canyon down there, and it has all the features that were described in the journals-- the pioneers journals. So Cache Cave, the bird habitat the holes in the wall, these are things the pioneers wrote about. So basically, it was designed right out of the journals. They came where Mountain Dell Reservoir is and they talk about going through the maze of peaks and mountains so that is this," said Johanson.

She also has designed other artistic infrastructure pieces in other states, like Texas and California.

“I don’t design abstract forms, I try to layer meaning in all my projects,” explained Johanson. So, it was very important for me to have the pioneer narrative to make it very specific to this place. It is a very inspiring story. As an environmentalist, I was totally taken with Brigham Young’s journal. This was the only group that came to the west and didn’t shoot every animal they saw, they didn’t poison the water because they were very aware there would be more people following in their tracks. and so it is a message of environmentalism as well.”

She said the Sego Lily Dam will be complete by the first week of December.

For more pictures and details about the project visit:

http://patriciajohanson.com/projects/salt-lake-city.html

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September Trail Updates

There has been plenty of exciting progress made in the last few months.

  • The Trail from 2500 east to 1700 east should be open early to mid-October.  Paving, fencing and landscaping should be complete soonConstruction has begun on the I-80 corridor section of the trail connecting Sugar House and Tanner Park. By mid October, the Bonneville Shoreline Trailhead at Wasatch Boulevard will be connected to Sugar House entirely on designated bike path
  • The Roper Rail yard section (300 West to 900 West) is open.  Plans are to construct a dedicated bridge over 900 west that will continue west and link to the Provo/Jordan River Parkeway.  This element is in need of funding but we are hopeful that it will be complete within 5 years.
  • The South Salt Lake Section plans are underway to connect the end of the S-Line trail to 300 West.  Temporary route signage should be in place soon.
  • The service project, planting 100's of plants and placing irrigation, is complete!!!  Cisterns are now supplying water to the plants and we hope for a high plant survival rate.

The trail is nearly finished! Thank you for your interest and support. Please continue to follow updates via our website and Facebook page.