| Savage Tooele Railroad | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Status | Under Construction |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 11 mi (18 km) |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
The Savage Tooele Railroad is a shortline railroad under construction along the former Western Pacific Railroad Warner Branch, to the Lakeview Business Park in Grantsville, Utah. The railroad is approximately 11 miles long. [1] Authorization from the Surface Transportation Board to build the railroad was given in April 2024. [2]
The Western Pacific Railroad originally built the Warner Branch (also referred to as the "Tooele Branch" in some timetables) in 1917 to connect the Western Pacific to the Tooele Valley Railway, accessing the traffic from the International Smelting and Refining Company plant in Tooele, Utah. [3] [4] An interchange with the Tooele Army Depot was built in 1943 providing further traffic along the branch. [3] Following the merger between the Western Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad the branch would be deemed surplus, and was largely abandoned. Rails were removed from Tooele to the unincorporated community of Marshall, Utah in 2003. [3] A significant portion of the right of way on the Tooele to Grantsville portion of the Warner Branch exists presently as the Mid-Valley Trail. [5] [6]
In 2020, the Romney Group (owned by Josh Romney, son of Utah senator Mitt Romney) and NorthPoint Development broke ground on the Lakeview Business Park, north of the Utah Motorsports Campus. [7] The Savage Tooele Railroad was founded as a common carrier railroad under parent company Savage (who operate the nearby Savage Bingham and Garfield Railroad in Salt Lake County) to restore and operate the Warner Branch to the business park and filed an appeal in 2021 with the Surface Transportation Board to begin construction of the railroad line. [2] [8] The project was backed by Utah governor Spencer Cox and representatives John Curtis and Chris Stewart, but concerns were raised by the Environmental Protection Agency due to the railroad's proximity to wetlands near the Great Salt Lake. [9] Tooele County agreed to replace a segment of the Mid-Valley Trail right of way with a bypass segment, to clear the right of way for the Savage Tooele Railroad. [10] Motions to begin construction on the railroad were denied in 2021 and 2022, pending the completion of an environmental report which was finished in 2024, after a draft environmental report had been issued in 2023. [8] [11] [12]
In February 2024, the STB granted permission to the Union Pacific Railroad to restore the upper portion of the Warner Branch to service for interchange with the Savage Tooele Railroad. [13] BNSF Railway had appealed for lengthier STB proceedings to allow access to interchange with the Savage Tooele Railroad via trackage rights, however currently the STB has denied this appeal. [14] [13] Permission was granted by the STB for the Savage Tooele Railroad to begin construction from its connection with the Union Pacific to the Lakeview Business Park in April that year. [2] The railroad will also serve the Twenty Wells Project associated with the Utah Inland Port in Grantsville, Utah. [15] Residents of Erda, Utah and Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment jointly filed a petition for reconsideration with the Surface Transportation Board opposing the railroad in early May, citing impacts the Lakeview Business Park and railroad would bring to the surrounding area, which the railroad described as a position "without merit". [16]
Grantsville is the second most populous city in Tooele County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 12,617 at the 2020 census. The city has grown slowly and steadily throughout most of its existence, but rapid increases in growth occurred during the 1970s, 1990s, and 2010s. Recent rapid growth has been attributed to being close to Salt Lake City, small town community feel, lower housing costs than Salt Lake County, the nearby Deseret Peak recreational center, the Utah Motorsports Campus raceway, and the newly built Wal-Mart distribution center located just outside the city. It is quickly becoming a bedroom community for commuters into the Salt Lake Valley.
Tooele is a city in Tooele County in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 35,742 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Tooele County. Located approximately 40 minutes southwest of Salt Lake City, Tooele is known for Tooele Army Depot, for its views of the nearby Oquirrh Mountains and the Great Salt Lake.
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