Bike/pedestrian underpass to span South Main Street

This artist's rendering illustrates a bike/pedestrian underpass that will span South Main Street thanks to a $4.1 million grant from the Utah Department of Transportation.

LOGAN – City officials in Logan have announced a $4.1 million grant from the Utah Department of Transportation for a bike/pedestrian underpass spanning South Main Street in Logan.

Mayor Holly Daines says that the underpass will cross Highway 89/91 at 600 South Main to connect “… more than 17 miles of existing east and west trail segments with new trail sections at the Riverwalk and Gateway developments.”

Construction of the underpass will allow for alternative ways of commuting and improved safety for pedestrians and cyclists, according to city officials.

The Main Street underpass is one of nine projects statewide recently approved by the Utah Transportation Commission with a total cost of $35 million.

This has been another great public/private partnership,” Daines explains. “The UDOT funding requires a 20 percent match, which is $1,030,923. The city appreciates the generosity of Craig Adams of Gateway Development in providing $200,000 of adjacent trail improvements and Dell Loy Hansen of Wasatch Development for providing $160,250 in donated property and improvements.

“The city will provide the remaining balance (of the required match) through in-kind work.”

The project plan calls for a 10 x 10 x 100 underpass to cross the busy highway just north of the Logan River. Other project work will include turning 600 South Street into a cul-de-sac on the west side of Main Street; rerouting stormwater channels; and, repairing/installing landscaping, sidewalks and lighting.

The underpass itself will be a prefabricated structure independent of the bridge crossing the Logan River near 600 South.

City officials acknowledge that completion of the project will require property acquisition on the west side of Main Street and demolition of structures there. Partial acquisition and easement of property on the east side of the highway will also be necessary.

The main benefit of the underpass, city officials emphasize, will be to provide a safe means of mobility from east to west without interrupting traffic flow along Hwy 89/91. At present, the closest signalized crosswalks on South Main are more than a half-mile apart.

The underpass will also connect recently redeveloped properties on both sides of the highway. Those developments include retail outlets, restaurants, office spaces, hotels and high-density housing.

“We anticipate that the project will be bid in the spring,” Daines added, “with construction to being in summer or fall of 2022.”

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4 Comments

  • L Allen September 3, 2021 at 2:07 pm Reply

    Will be a nice addition and safer to cross Main St. by foot or bike.

    There is not enough detail in the article to know who it may affect negatively. Questions like will private property be condemn to build this need to be asked and understood up front. Being next to/near the Logan River hopefully possible flooding questions will be addressed too.

    • mario wallace September 5, 2021 at 6:06 pm Reply

      to answer your question my home is only 2 properties from main street on 600 south. no one from Logan City has talked to us about any of this.

  • W Lee September 4, 2021 at 9:26 pm Reply

    $4,100,000 million dollars that will benefit how many people per day?

    The cost to benefit ratio is terrible for this program. Let’s say that during the summer 100 people use this underpass per day for 6 month and 25 for 6 months during the winter. In one years’ time it has benefited 18,250 people (100 x 182.5)during the summer months and 4,562people (25×182.5) people during the winter for a total of 22,812 people. 6 years is a common time period for industries to expect an ROI (Return On Investment).

    To offset the cost let’s assume a toll was paid each time a person used the underpass. Knowing the price to be repaid is $4,1 million over 6 years to meet the ROI goal, and that the expected usage per year is the 22,812 people x 6 years = 136,872 people in the allotted 6 years. $4,100,000divided by 136.872 would require a toll fee of $29.95 per person.

    Hence the cost to benefit is terrible for this program. Logan/Cache County needs many upgrades. I cannot imagine this project is Logan’s #1 improvement to best serve its people.

    • James September 5, 2021 at 4:58 pm Reply

      I think your estimate of how many people will use this far too low. There is a lot of density in the area and much more in the years to come. Beyond those that live or work in the immediate area, it will be connecting already popular trails for walking and biking. It will receive a lot of use just as part of the trail system. I’ll personally use this twice per day every weekday as it will be a much better crossing for my bike commute to work.

      And factoring the cost/benefit absolutely should factor the alternative. There is no crosswalk for a half mile. Doing road-level cross walk (with a stop light) would disrupt traffic flow in what’s already a congested area. A full intersection likewise slow N-S traffic flow and would probably cost just as much.

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