EXHIBITS
(In) The Road of Progress: The West Side and I-15: Construction of I-15
Construction of I-15
Beginning of Construction
Unlike those involved in some later freeway revolts, west side residents were unsuccessful in their efforts. Governor George D. Clyde had been a strong advocate of the interstate but understood west side contempt.
“Wherever the freeway is located it will remain there indefinitely...it would be false economy to curve around every building and perpetuate an inadequate design…While we don’t want to hurt people, we have to think ahead, to think in terms of twenty-five to one hundred years.”
– George D. Clyde, c. 1957[1]
By the time construction began, this section of road was no longer just an expressway, but a piece of the larger interstate system. Although other road sections in Utah had retroactively gained the designation of I-15, this section was one of the first projects in the state to be built as a formal part of the interstate system.
These topographic maps show the route taken through the city. Note the disruption of the city blocks and the gap between the freeway and the railroad tracks. It largely reflects earlier route proposals made for the Seventh West path through the city. Courtesy of the United States Geological Survey.
The First Segment
Here is the program for the groundbreaking of the first section of the Salt Lake City Freeway, which includes a map of where the finalized plans for construction were situated. Courtesy of the Utah State Archives.
