Parley’s Trail planners seeking private donations

Due to unforeseen problems at the construction site, The Draw at Sugar House has a $450,000 budget shortfall. The basic elements of the Parley’s Trail street crossing: Sego Lily Plaza, the Canyon Wall, and the underpass will still be constructed. However, without the additional funding many of the historical and artistic elements may be lost.

The tunnel under 1300 East, which connects the Sugar House Park to the Sugar House Business District, and the Sego Lily are going to lose many of the proposed features unless enough money can be raised.

The design of the bridge and tunnel structure and the retaining wall next to the trail will depend upon the amount of money that can be raised. Currently, the PRATT Coalition is working toward raising money for the characteristic elements of the project. 

“These elements are not just artistic. They are historical and functional,” Juan Arce-Larreta, PRATT Coalition Chairperson said.

During excavation for the trail wall last fall, contractors ran into concrete and rebar that had been dumped on the site decades ago. Then, soil tests revealed remnants of the old Denver & Rio Grande Western railroad abutments underneath 1300 East, where the bridge tunnel is to go.

Project consultants have had to go back to the drawing board to figure out what kind of walls and tunnel can be built within these constraints and for the money that is available.  

“The current redesign will result in a strategy to reduce the engineering costs as well as the construction time,” Arce-Larreta said.

The PRATT Board is currently taking donationsto preserve the integrity of design elements on the trail. A request for bids is to go out to contractors in February.

The Utah Department of Transportation allows the PRATT board to put up the contract, which will be based on the cost of the engineering estimate after the redesign is completed in the next few months.            

Currently, the PRATT board has received close to $60,000 in private contributions. Funds raised between now and the end of February will be added to the current budget, and will ensure that the retaining walls and bridge tunnel are built as the designers intended.

Part of that money came from Sugar House Board member Michael Kavanagh, who filed for a grant for $10,000. The grant money came from Negley Flinn who’s contributed toward The Draw in the past. Kavanagh applied for a grant from Flinn before and was given $25,000 for weed eradication for the PRATT board to use. Flinn had told him to call again if he needed a grant for the project. She asked him if $10,000 would work.

“It was the exact amount that I was going to ask for,” Kavanagh said.

In addition to private donations, The RDA has contributed $100,000 to the project. The Sego Lily Plaza is going to be constructed later on in the year. Donations for the artistic elements for the plaza will need to be raised by the end of April.