UDOT Identifies Gondola as Preferred Option In Little Cottonwood Canyon EIS

Utah’s SR-210, the road connecting Salt Lake City to Alta and Snowbird, during a decidedly non-peak hour. Photo by Greg Rakozy.

In 2020, the Utah Department of Transportation released an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) for traffic flow improvements through Little Cottonwood Canyon, which is home to the Alta and Snowbird ski resorts. This study comes in the wake of increasing traffic to the area—especially during the peak winter season—and aims to provide sufficient capacity for the year 2050.

After several rounds of narrowing the options down, the organization has identified the Gondola Alternative B, otherwise known as the gondola from La Caille, as its preferred option.

The La Caille Gondola option was deemed to provide the best reliability enhancements of the proposals. The proposed gondola would run cars on 2-minute headways. As part of this proposal, UDOT would also take some elements from the Enhanced Bus Service plan with no roadway widening, phasing in improved bus service as the gondola gets constructed, as well as a mobility hub offering bus service both to the gondola base and up to the ski rsorts.

Total La Caille travel time would be 45-49 minutes to Snowbird—the gondola ride itself would take 27 minutes, the drive time up to La Caille would take 18 minutes, and the bus from the mobility hub would take 22 minutes. The ride from Snowbird to Alta would take an additional 10 minutes, for a total of 55-59 minutes. This would be faster than the original gondola proposal, which would take 53 minutes to Snowbird and 63 minutes to Alta, and about comparable to bus service with no roadway widening, which would take 50 minutes to Snowbird but just 54 minutes to Alta. However, bus service with roadway widening, estimated to take just 32 minutes to Snowbird and 36 minutes to Alta, would still provide the fastest service.

The goal of this EIS is to get 30% of crowds into public transportation options during peak hours by 2050. More information on these alternatives can be found here.

Our Take

Given the expected outcome from each proposal, it’s clear to see why the La Caille Gondola became the preferred option for this project. While the La Caille Gondola might be slower than driving with no traffic, demand in the area is only expected to increase—and with its own right-of-way, the gondola will never be subject to traffic backups. In addition, the gondola looks to provide much-welcome weather transportation resiliency during storms as well as some decently convenient parking at the base of the cable car.

While this plan is designed to address traffic concerns expected in 2050, we’re glad that UDOT has decided to consider to break this plan into phases with additional bus service planned as a first step. The gondola will likely take years—if not decades—to materialize, and if nothing is addressed in the short term, we may well see the canyon’s traffic situation continue to deteriorate. It’s clear that residents and visitors would value at least some sort of relief now, and more public transportation in the near-term may very well provide that.

Considering a ski trip to Little Cottonwood Canyon this year? Check out our Alta and Snowbird reviews, as well as our full Utah rankings.