HL / 001 SALT LAKE CITY · UTAH

700 East 1956 / 2026

Seventy years ago, a major widening project reshaped 700 East. Now the street is under construction again.

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2026 · LIVE LAYER

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700 East and 900 South during construction in 2026

700 E @ 900 S AUG 2026

JANUARY 1956

A street under pressure.

By the middle of the century, 700 East had become one of Salt Lake City's important automobile corridors.

A BIGGER ROAD

Traffic problems on Seventh East had been recognized for years. As early as 1941, the stretch between 900 South and 1300 South was being described as a traffic bottleneck.

By early 1956, the Utah State Road Commission proposed spending $500,000 to widen Seventh East and construct new median strips between South Temple and 1300 South.

The work was described as the first leg of a Seventh East expressway. The initial construction program was planned for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1956.

Automobile traffic on 700 East in Salt Lake City in January 1956 — JAN 1956 7TH EAST · AUTOMOBILE TRAFFIC

JAN 14 1956

Before the widening.

Looking south from 900 South, the corridor was photographed before the major widening work.

The house on the southeast corner still stands today, giving us a fixed landmark between the street photographed in 1956 and the street outside now.

Looking south along 700 East from 900 South on January 14, 1956 — ARCHIVE / 1956 JAN 14 1956

700 E @ 900 S · LOOKING SOUTH

NOVEMBER 1956

Then the street came apart.

By November, construction had moved directly through the residential corridor.

Excavators, utility trenches and piles of earth transformed the street while homes and apartment buildings remained immediately beside the work.

Six views of the street under construction · Swipe or scroll through the sequence →

Excavator working along 700 East during construction in 1956 — NOV 13 1956 7TH EAST CONSTRUCTION

A man and automobile beside construction on 700 East in 1956 — NOV 13 1956 7TH EAST CONSTRUCTION

Deep utility trench along 700 East during construction in 1956 — NOV 13 1956 7TH EAST CONSTRUCTION

Large open trench along 700 East during construction in 1956 — NOV 13 1956 7TH EAST CONSTRUCTION

Road excavation beside homes and an apartment building along 700 East in 1956 — NOV 1956 7TH EAST CONSTRUCTION

Excavator, trucks and workers rebuilding 700 East at 300 South in 1956 — NOV 1956 7TH EAST @ 3RD SOUTH

1957 → 1959

It wasn't finished in 1956.

The Seventh East project continued in stages. In April 1957, the widening was still described as progressing slowly.

The road-widening program kept pushing south. By July 1959, construction was underway between 1700 South and 2100 South.

Median construction on Seventh East between 1700 South and 2100 South in 1959 — JUL 28 1959 7TH EAST · 17TH SOUTH TO 21ST SOUTH

Median curb construction on Seventh East at 2200 South in 1959 — 1959 7TH EAST @ 22ND SOUTH

Workers changing a speed limit sign from 30 to 40 miles per hour on Seventh East in 1959 — OCT 28 1959 TRAFFIC SIGN · 7TH EAST

Three years after the widening began, a Tribune photographer captured workers replacing a 30 mph sign on Seventh East with a 40 mph sign.

It's a small detail, but a revealing one: the rebuilt street wasn't only wider. It was becoming a faster automobile corridor. A 40 mph limit is still posted along 700 East today.

DECADES PASS

The widening became the street. For generations, the rebuilt 700 East simply became 700 East.

JULY 2026

The equipment comes back.

Seventy years later, 700 East is under construction again. But this time, the goal is different.

UDOT began the current project on July 13, 2026, along 700 East between 400 South and 1700 South.

Instead of substantially widening the corridor, crews are rebuilding the street that earlier generations left behind.

ROADWAY

Existing asphalt is being resurfaced.

MEDIANS

Existing raised medians are being replaced.

DESIGN

The same number of travel lanes will remain.

THE LIVE LAYER

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Current 700 East and 900 South traffic camera image — LIVE CAMERA · LATEST CAPTURED FRAME 700 E @ 900 S

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Historical photographs: Salt Lake Tribune Negative Collection, Utah State History / J. Willard Marriott Digital Library. Historical project information drawn from Utah State Road Commission reporting and contemporary accounts of the Seventh East widening project. Current construction details from the Utah Department of Transportation.