Downtown Salt Lake City will be busy in 2027. What streets will close?

SALT LAKE CITY — Juan Becerra says traffic remains the top question and concern from his meetings ahead of next year's Salt Lake Temple open house.

Becerra, the government and community relations manager for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has traveled across various Salt Lake City community councils over the past month to explain the church's transportation plans for the massive event, running from April 5, 2027, through Oct. 1, 2027.

It will close down a few roads in the area, but downtown traffic impact concerns have only increased since Becerra began meeting with community councils.

Smith Entertainment Group, in conjunction with Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County, released new renderings last week for a "sports, entertainment, culture and convention" district in and around the Delta Center.

Initial construction is expected to begin as early as February 2027, leading to some additional downtown road closures. Other projects in the area could also influence next year's traffic patterns, which is why Salt Lake City transportation officials are trying to prepare residents and visitors for changes.

Temple traffic

Salt Lake City leaders have already agreed to close sections of three downtown roads beginning in March 2027:

• North Temple: Main Street to 200 West.
• South Temple: Main Street to West Temple.
• West Temple: South Temple to 200 North.

The blocks directly north, south and west of the temple will be fenced off, with traffic control barricades added to the street closures that are northwest of Temple Square.

Church officials are encouraging people planning to travel from outside the city to take public transportation, such as Utah Transit Authority's TRAX line, or to park at a lot it is setting up near North Temple and Redwood Road. From there, a free shuttle service will whisk visitors in and out of the open house every day.

At least that's the goal, with 22,000 visitors expected daily once the open house begins in April.

Salt Lake City plans to amplify the church's push to get open house visitors to park on the west side, which it believes will work well for out-of-state visitors but could be a challenge for in-state residents used to parking downtown for the temple.

"I think (the parking) will be well-used. It's not the silver, 100% cover everything bullet — it will help, but it's not the only way out," said Lynn Jacobs, Salt Lake City's transportation director.

He and Becerra attended a Downtown Community Council event on Wednesday to answer questions from residents closest to the action. Many residents asked about ways to get around the closures.

Jacobs expects the closures will lead to more traffic on Victory Road, State Street and 400 South, which are equipped to handle more vehicles. Residents are urged to use local streets like 200 South and 300 South, which don't really connect to major facilities that draw in traffic.

"We're going to try to message it that way and encourage people to do that," he told KSL, noting that the closures beginning in March allow for some test runs when the church conducts pre-open house tours.

Downtown district

Work to begin building a "sports, entertainment, culture and convention district" will likely begin before the open house. Partial deconstruction of the Salt Palace Convention Center could begin as early as February 2027.

A section of 200 West tunneled underneath the center will be closed once that begins. Some staging will be set up near Abravanel Hall for construction vehicles hauling out materials, which could mean more heavy-vehicle traffic downtown, Jacobs said.

200 West will be brought back up to grade as part of the project, per details released this month.

The district's plans no longer include a pedestrian plaza over 300 West, but they do include new underground entry points to underground parking as part of the massive redevelopment, similar to City Creek Center's parking points.

The Utah Department of Transportation hasn't indicated whether work on 300 West to build those will begin next year, Jacobs said.

Unlike the temple open house, impacts will last beyond 2027, though. The entire project, which includes a new convention center, art museum and several private developments, will likely take five to six years to complete, said Bill Knowles, community ombudsman for the Salt Lake City Downtown Alliance.

He likens it to the creation of City Creek Center. All of the participating entities have said their goal is to complete construction before 2034, when Salt Lake City hosts the Winter Olympics again.

Other potential impacts

Construction of the new Pioneer Trail won't finish until mid-2027, although UDOT plans to reopen State Street at Capitol Hill by the end of this year.

A few other projects could potentially create transportation challenges in and around downtown next year, including the construction of the new West High School. Jacobs said a 300 West lane closure is likely near 200 North at some point.

While he and Becerra are optimistic that transportation plans can run smoothly, a group of residents at Wednesday's Downtown Community Council meeting weren't as confident.

"I'll just say I have no faith in the city to manage this," one resident said. Several others in the room nodded in agreement.

Jacobs agrees it will be a major challenge.

UDOT and Salt Lake City have already started planning around expected patterns, and may adjust signals to account for traffic flow changes. Utah Transit Authority has also been consulted about the expected downtown traffic.

But the city also has alternative ideas in case the current plan doesn't work.

"We're fully expecting that we'll have to adjust as we go," Jacobs said. "If we see a problem that we didn't anticipate, we have a whole team of professionals ... ready to look at it."

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