BackRunner
Rail isn’t a transit project. It’s a risk reduction strategy. Freight rail decouples the Basin from highway failure. Passenger rail takes pressure off canyon corridors that can’t handle what’s coming.
One Road Is Not a Transportation System
The Uintah Basin has one primary road in and out. When US-40 closes — for a crash, a rockslide, a fire, a flood — the Basin doesn’t slow down. It stops. Fuel stops moving. Freight stops moving. Emergency response gets complicated. People get stranded.
The Wasatch Back has a different version of the same problem. SR-189 through Provo Canyon and SR-224 through Parley’s Canyon are becoming commuter corridors, resort highways, and Olympic arteries all at once. No road can be all three without failing at all three.
One highway. One closure event shuts down fuel delivery, freight, agriculture, and emergency access simultaneously. The Basin cannot grow sustainably on a single-road foundation.
Commuters, resort traffic, freight, and Olympic venue access are being funneled through the same narrow canyon roads. The 2034 Games will push these corridors past their limits without intervention now.
Freight Rail + Passenger Rail. Both Matter.
BackRunner isn’t one project — it’s a framework for thinking about transportation as infrastructure rather than convenience. Two distinct needs, two distinct rail strategies, one unified argument.
A freight rail connection into the Uintah Basin creates a second supply chain that doesn’t depend on US-40. Fuel, equipment, agricultural goods — moved by rail when the highway is compromised. Energy producers get reliable logistics. Communities get a safety net.
Risk ReductionA passenger rail connection between Salt Lake and the Wasatch Back reduces vehicle throughput on canyon corridors. Workers commute without adding cars. Resort visitors arrive without clogging roads. Olympic athletes and spectators move efficiently without shutting down the highway.
Capacity + Olympics2034 Changes the Calculus
Soldier Hollow sits in Senate District 20. Deer Valley, Park City, and the Wasatch Back venues are in our corridor. The 2034 Winter Olympics will bring an estimated 2 million visitors to Utah over 16 days.
Those visitors need to move between Salt Lake, Park City, Heber, and Soldier Hollow without turning SR-189 and SR-224 into permanent gridlock. Rail isn’t a nice-to-have for 2034 — it’s the only realistic answer. And the window to build it is now, not in 2032.
- Soldier Hollow is a Tier 1 Olympic venue — located in SD-20
- Canyon corridor capacity is already stressed at current load
- Olympic traffic will multiply current volume by factors, not percentages
- Federal infrastructure funding is tied to Olympic planning timelines
- Planning decisions made in 2026–2027 determine what’s buildable by 2033
What a State Senator Can Actually Do
This isn’t federal infrastructure policy. A state senator can’t build rail alone. But a state senator can shape how Utah shows up in the federal conversation, what gets funded in the interim session budget, and whether the planning happens before or after the crisis.
- Olympic corridor priority designation — SR-189 and SR-224 flagged for state transportation planning tied to 2034 timelines
- Freight rail feasibility study — Basin connection study funded through UDOT with federal infrastructure match
- Legislative liaison role — active presence in UDOT, Wasatch Front Regional Council, and UTA planning processes
- Federal funding positioning — ensure Utah’s applications for infrastructure investment prioritize District 20 corridors
- No highway-only planning — oppose any transportation plan that treats road expansion as the only answer
Plan the Infrastructure Before It Fails
The Basin doesn’t get a second chance once US-40 becomes the site of a long-term closure. The Wasatch Back doesn’t get a do-over if the canyon corridors are gridlocked in 2034 in front of a global audience.
Transportation infrastructure has a 10–20 year planning horizon. The decisions that determine what exists in 2034 are being made right now. District 20 needs a senator in those rooms.
The Window to Plan
Is Right Now.
Transportation infrastructure has a 10–20 year lead time. The 2034 Olympics are 8 years away. Join the campaign and help put District 20 in the room.