Virtual Tour Visualizes “Steel Sky” Impact of Proposed Little Cottonwood Canyon, UT, Gondola

As the legal battle over Utah’s Little Cottonwood Canyon (LCC) intensifies, the nonprofit group Canyon Guard has launched a virtual tour titled “Under a Steel Sky” to illustrate the visual and physical footprint of the proposed world-record gondola. The project, which has been selected by the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) as the preferred solution to the canyon’s notorious “red snake” traffic, would involve the construction of 22 towers across an eight-mile span.

• Related: It’s Official: Little Cottonwood Canyon is Getting its Gondola, UDOT Confirms

The virtual tour utilizes data from UDOT’s environmental impact studies to project the reality of the 262-foot towers — some as tall as a 26-story building. “We wanted to show just how big this project is going to be, how tall the towers are going to be, and how big the footprint is going to be,” Charlie Luke, Executive Director of Canyon Guard, stated in a recent interview with KUER. Luke noted that for residents in nearby neighborhoods like Cottonwood Heights and Granite, the project essentially means a “40-person bus flying over their house.”

The Infrastructure Footprint

The proposed system would run parallel to S.R. 210, with stops at Snowbird and Alta. Key points of concern highlighted in the virtual tour include:

• Tanners Flat (Tower 9): Planned as an angle station, this specific site would require a five-acre footprint.

• The Base Area (Tower 19): Located near the Goldminer’s Daughter Lodge, this tower is cited by opponents as a major visual disruption to the natural alpine aesthetics of the Alta base area.

• Wildlife Corridors: Opponents argue that the construction of access roads for tower maintenance will disrupt previously undisturbed wildlife corridors, particularly around Tower 8.

Traffic Relief vs. Visual Blight

UDOT’s selection of Gondola Alternative B followed an analysis of over 50,000 public comments. Project Manager Josh Van Jura acknowledged the visual changes but maintained that when weighing mobility, safety, and life-cycle costs, “the gondola pulls ahead.” Proponents, including some local business owners, point to the “absolute nightmare” of 3-4 hour travel times on peak weekends as evidence that a permanent, non-road-based solution is required.

However, Canyon Guard argues that the gondola offers a narrow benefit. “If you hike in the summer, this gondola will not benefit you,” Luke told KUER, noting that the current plan does not include summer operations. Furthermore, with a 50-minute ride time from the base station to Alta, some question if it will truly save time compared to a standard 30-minute drive.

Watershed and Legal Hurdles

Environmental concerns extend beyond the visual. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall has expressed deep concern regarding the Salt Lake City watershed, which serves 360,000 people. Opponents worry that stirring up heavy metals from dormant 19th-century mining sites during tower construction could impact water quality. These concerns have fueled a consolidated lawsuit involving Salt Lake City, Sandy City, and the Metropolitan Water District, which is expected to be heard in court this spring or early summer.

The $729 million project is structured in three distinct phases. While the rollout of Phase One which focused on enhanced busing and tolling was originally targeted for late 2025, the project remains entangled in legal challenges. The actual construction of the gondola (Phase Three) is not projected to begin until the 2040s, providing a multi-decade window for the court system and the public to weigh the “steel sky” vision against alternative traffic mitigation efforts.