COST PROJECTIONS & IMPACT CALCULATIONS

Escalating Costs of the Little Cottonwood Canyon Gondola: A Timeline of Waste Leading to $2B+ by Construction Start—Time to Stop This Boondoggle

The proposed gondola's costs have skyrocketed from initial estimates, driven by UDOT's underestimations, inflation, overruns, contractor-driven bloat and hidden expenses (e.g., litigation, environmental mitigation, land acquisition, and annual O&M). Figures based on EIS extrapolations. Here is a link to the official UDOT EIS documents. 

Official UDOT estimates start at $955 million for construction, but with annual operations at up to $21.7 million and a 50-year lifespan, the total balloons to ~$2 billion or more. This doesn't account for further escalations from inflation (10%–32% since 2022), lawsuits delaying implementation, or hidden costs like watershed risks affecting 400,000+ residents.

The projected $2B total is for a 2040 anticipated construction start (per UDOT's phased timeline—Phase 1 buses by 2025, gondola in Phase 3, 20-30 years out), factoring in 5-7% annual escalation seen in similar projects and current estimates already hitting $1.4B.

Breaking Down the $2B Calculation: Escalated Costs and Lifetime Projections

Here's the structured math based on verified data:

Capital Costs (Phased Implementation):

$955.4 million total (Phase 1: $150M tolling/buses; Phase 2: $260M snow sheds/buses; Phase 3: $545M gondola/base station). Critics cite up to $1.4B with 20% contingencies and market escalations (e.g., 32% hike from 2020 to 2022).

Annual Operations & Maintenance:

$7-8 Million (winter ops, energy, labor, reserves)

Some sources note $4M–$10.6M for Gondola B alone, but full project ops (including phased buses) push it to $21.7M.

Lifetime Total (50 Years):

Capital $1B (mid-range escalated) + Ops ($21.7M × 50 = $1.085B) = ~$2.085B. Over 30 years (UDOT's analysis period): ~$1.6B undercounted nominal.

These figures do not include overruns, as seen in similar UDOT projects (e.g., 25%+ escalations in infrastructure).

The Utah Legislature has appropriated $393.7 million from 2017 to FY25 for Cottonwood Canyons transportation improvements (including gondola planning/EIS), primarily from increased taxes on food and fuel.

This represents committed funds, much of which has been spent on studies, consulting (e.g., HDR's role in cost escalations), legal defenses, and early phases—fueling the $2B boondoggle.

While dismissing alternatives like buses ($510M total) or plows ($300K each) could solve issues affordably.

This underscores misuse of taxpayer dollars (~$337 per Utah household for these appropriations alone);

According to the UDOT EIS Annual O&M Cost: A gondola system would be a large investment, and UDOT or private operator would want to maximize its use and collect as much in fares as possible to pay for the gondola's capital investment and operation. The expensive system would also require employing 22 staff per shift.

Figures based on UDOT EIS extrapolations. Here is a link to the official UDOT EIS documents.

UDOT's Tolling Scheme: Revenue Grab Masquerading as Congestion Fix

UDOT's LCC tolling proposal in the EIS reeks of a money-making scheme over genuine safety concerns, slapping a hefty $25 per car fee (ranging $20-$30, variable over time) on peak winter days to cut personal vehicles and push riders onto buses or the gondola.

This stands in stark contrast to UDOT's own low-key Adams Avenue Parkway toll, which costs just $1-$2 per car without fanfare, highlighting the inflated pricing in LCC that burdens families and low-income users (with token mitigations like off-peak access or subsidized buses).

UDOT doesn't even mention the words "Traction" or "Safety" in the tolling proposal.

Even more hypocritical, UDOT pledges to coordinate with the USDA Forest Service to minimize visual impacts from tolling tech like gantries or readers—avoiding ugly booths to prevent queues—while brazenly ignoring the gondola's 200+ foot towers and flashing FAA lights that would permanently scar the canyon's pristine aesthetics and wildlife habitats.

This cash-focused approach proves the gondola isn't about solutions or safety, but extraction; demand UDOT scrap it for affordable, non-intrusive fixes like expanded buses and QR-enforced traction laws instead.