Uniting Salt Lake City: What the Rio Grande Plan brings to the Westside

Salt Lake City stands at a crossroads. With the release of a new economic study from Utah State University (USU), momentum is growing behind the Rio Grande Plan — a bold proposal to reroute and bury heavy rail lines, restore the historic Rio Grande Depot as a transit hub, and unlock dozens of acres of developable land. For residents of Salt Lake's Westside, long separated by rail lines dating back to 1870, this plan represents not just a transit project, but a once-in-a-generation opportunity to stitch the city back together.