Old skywalk gets new assignment

Families at Columbia Elementary have been very patient, and so have the families living near Sunset Ridge Middle School. And now it appears that patience is paying off for both in a big way.

The skywalk that stretches across Bangerter Highway at 7800 South is in the way of the new overpass construction planned by the Utah Department of Transportation, and is coming down. A new one is being built further south, giving Columbia students a better way to access the school and SRMS students a safer way to reach their school when it is reinstalled over state highway U-111.

“It makes perfect sense to take a perfectly good walkway and move it to a new location that desperately needs it,” Rep. Jim Bird said. He’s been working with UDOT and West Jordan City on this “recycling” project for years.

“The community living on the west side of U-111 needs a safe way to get to the elementary and junior highs across the highway,” he said. “The skywalk will provide it and by recycling it, we’ll save tax payers a lot of money.”

The old walkway will stay in use until the new one is fully functional. Its open date is scheduled around Thanksgiving. Once it is opened, the task of taking the old one down will begin.

“It will take about a week to bring it down,” said Adan Carrillo, UDOT public information officer. “The span of the bridge will be put into storage until this spring or summer.”

Only the section that spans the highway called the walkway will be saved for use across U-111. New pillars and support beams will be constructed to support the walkway. Most skywalks cost about $1.2 million to construct. By reusing the walkway, taxpayers will see a savings of about $750,000.

“As far as I know, this is the first time a walkway has been reused like this,” Bird said. “I would like to hope we could do this again in the future if the need arises.”

Principal Kathe Riding says the next month will be busy at Columbia Elementary, as new safe walking routes are created for students.

“With the walkway moving south, that changes how many of our students will get to school and may also change the bussing routes.”

Elementary students who live farther than one and a half miles from their school are bussed. With the skywalk moving, students who have been bussed in the past may find they are now considered walking students, and students who’ve walked may now qualify for bussing.

“We have been working on our safety plan for some time,” Riding said. “UDOT has been very good to work with us as we plan for our students. Families will be notified in the coming weeks of any changes to their student’s safe walking route.”

The shift in walking routes will also affect students who attend Joel P. Jensen Middle School. Families will be notified about any changes at the middle school by the end of November.

The expansion of 7800 south has also created issues at Columbia on the playground, and for parents trying to access the school.

“We’ve really been dealing with two separate issues,” Riding said. “It feels like the front and the back of the school are under construction.”

With the creation of a continuous flow intersection at 7800 South and Bangerter, part of Columbia’s property was purchased by UDOT for the expansion. Both playgrounds were impacted, forcing staff and teachers to get creative when it comes to recess.

“We were very worried about that but something wonderful came out of it,” Riding said. “Our students starting playing group games and interacting with each other.”

However, part of the deal with UDOT was to rebuild the playgrounds in the front of the school.

“We jokingly call it the little lake,” Riding said. “The water retention area will become the playground and we couldn’t be happier.”

Riding said the area was a constant concern every time it rained and filled with water.

“We were worried students would slip and get wet or hurt or come over on the weekend and play in it when no one was looking, so we are thrilled that it will move underground and we won’t have to worry about it. This is definitely a win-win situation for us,” Riding said.

Portable classrooms were relocated to another part of the property and traffic in and out of the school has been rerouted and changed multiple times.

 Carrillo says UDOT will do everything it can to make traffic flow during the upcoming holiday shopping season.

“We understand the importance of getting as much done as we can, so those visiting Jordan Landing during the busy shopping season can still do so,” he said.

To get the new skywalk in place, UDOT fully closed Bangerter Highway on Oct. 18-19 for a two-day installation.