The Union Pacific Railroad this week began breaching the 20-mile causeway that bisects the Great Salt Lake, allowing the waters from the lake's north arm and south arm to mix.
The causeway was constructed in 1959 with two 15-foot culverts that allowed waters to circulate. Still, the two arms of the lake began to look very different over time, to the detriment of the ecosystem and industries that rely on the lake. The north arm took on a reddish hue and became much saltier than the south arm, which is fed by fresh waters from the Bear, Weber and Provo rivers.
After the aging culverts began collapsing, Union Pacific in 2011 began filling them in to ensure the structural integrity of the causeway, which conveys a railroad line across the Great Salt Lake.
The railroad agreed to open a breach this fall, which will eventually be spanned by a bridge.
State models suggest the breach will cause the water level of the south end to drop by about a foot, and increase its salinity by about 1 percent.
The Lucine Cutoff officially opened to rail traffic on Nov. 26, 1903. It was built to replace the original Union Pacific-Central Pacific tracks completed through Promontory in 1869. It shortened the journey from Lucine to Ogden by more than 40 miles and shaved hours off the railroad's schedule. The causeway across the northern end of the Great Salt Lake in Box Elder County still carries 20 freight trains a day. Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune 08/27/2002
The Lucine Cutoff officially opened to rail traffic on Nov. 26, 1903. It was built to replace the original Union Pacific-Central Pacific tracks completed through Promontory in 1869. It shortened the journey from Lucine to Ogden by more than 40 miles and shaved hours off the railroad's schedule. The causeway across the northern end of the Great Salt Lake in Box Elder County still carries 20 freight trains a day. Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune 08/27/2002
The Lucine Cutoff officially opened to rail traffic on Nov. 26, 1903. It was built to replace the original Union Pacific-Central Pacific tracks completed through Promontory in 1869. It shortened the journey from Lucine to Ogden by more than 40 miles and shaved hours off the railroad's schedule. The causeway across the northern end of the Great Salt Lake in Box Elder County still carries 20 freight trains a day. Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune 08/27/2002
Wayne Wurtsbaugh | Utah State University Since 1959 Union Pacific Railroad's rock causeway has isolated the Great Salt Lake's hyper-saline North Arm, the reddish water on the left, from the rest of the lake to the south. Utah and federal regulators are now weighing the railroadÕs plan to construct a 150-foot breach and bridge that would allow water to travel back and forth. Without such mixing, the lakeÕs overseers fear the South Arm could experience swings in its salt load to the detriment of industries and tiny organisms that depend on the lake.
Wayne Wurtsbaugh | Utah State University A Union Pacific train traverses the rock causeway crossing the north end of UtahÕs Great Salt Lake. Since 1959 this causeway has isolated the hyper-saline North Arm, the reddish water on the right, from the rest of the lake to the south. Utah and federal regulators are now weighing the railroadÕs plan to construct a 150-foot breach and bridge that would allow water to travel back and forth. Without such mixing, the lakeÕs overseers fear the South Arm could experience swings in its salt load to the detriment of industries and tiny organisms that depend on the lake.
