(Sweetwater County, Wyo. – December 29, 2022) The Sweetwater County Historical Museum often fields questions from visitors about the origins of the pedestrian viaduct and underpass in Green River. Decades ago, distinguished local historian Marna Grubb provided an excellent summary of those origins in one of her many articles.
Marna was a regular contributor to Echoes from the Bluffs, a series of accounts about Green River and Sweetwater County history that ran in the Green River Star from 1998 to 2003. The articles were later incorporated into a four-volume book set published by the Green River Historic Preservation Commission and are available for purchase at the Sweetwater County Historical Museum. They may also be found at county libraries in Rock Springs and Green River.
Today, traveling from one side of Green River to the other is accomplished with great ease in a short period of time, but this was not always the case.
For many years, Green River was a town of three-to-four thousand people located north and south of the railroad tracks and north of the river. Getting across the railroad tracks often presented long delays, while citizens waited for passing freight trains or heavy switching activity in the railroad yards.
In October of 1935, Green River’s town council approved a proposal to the Union Pacific Railroad to eliminate the railroad crossing at Elizabeth Street (North First East) through construction of an underpass at West Second South and a pedestrian overhead crossing at Elizabeth Street.
This proposal was reportedly brought about by the persistence of Green River’s popular mayor and his supporting town council, according to The Green River Star of August 1937. Samuel S. Hoover served as mayor from 1935 to 1939.
The underpass opened to public use in August of 1937. The Green River Star reported that the project cost approximately $160,000 and featured fine construction, pedestrian walkways, steel railings, and decorative lighting.
The underpass was constructed by Inland Construction Company of Omaha, Nebraska.
In September of 1937, The Green River Star reported that Police Chief Chris Jessen urged parents to prevent children from using the underpass as a playground after incidents involving roller skating and wagon coasting.
Under a September 7, 1936 agreement, the railroad granted right-of-way for a pedestrian viaduct, the State Highway Department agreed to construct it, and the town agreed to maintain it.
In 1937, the Wyoming State Highway Department awarded the low bid of $66,931 to Inland Construction Company, which also built the underpass.
The pedestrian viaduct opened in June of 1938, eliminating the need to cross 21 sets of rails, including mainline and switching tracks.