Salt Lake City mayoral candidates Dave Buhler and Ralph Becker both said Monday they oppose running light rail from the transit hub along 600 West and instead want to see it extend on 400 West to North Temple.

"That's where it belongs," Buhler told The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board Monday. "I say I'm a bridge builder. This is one bridge I don't want to build."

Becker, in an interview, said he too supports the 400 West route and wants to be responsive to concerns about "further isolating west-side neighborhoods" with another bridge.

Granted, the City Council is poised to pick the 400 West or 600 West option in November, before the next mayor takes office. But the light-rail line is far from built, so the next administration still could play a substantial role.

The 400 West option was the original plan, but a technical committee, including city planners and traffic engineers, endorsed 600 West instead because it would avoid blotting out a turn lane and taking property from The Boyer Co. on 400 West to build a TRAX bridge along the south side of the North Temple viaduct.

But neighbors decry the new plan, which includes building a 30-foot-wide, 30-foot-tall bridge across existing tracks from 600 West to North Temple. More than 70 residents jammed a Planning Commission meeting earlier this month to argue the proposal would blight the area, which is starting to enjoy some rejuvenation despite being hemmed in by Interstate 15 and freight-train tracks.

A 600 West bridge is "just another barrier between east and west," Victoria Orme, Fairpark Community Council chairwoman, said Monday.

Orme is glad Becker and Buhler favor the 400 West route.

"That's really encouraging," she said.

Orme and other west-siders hope money can be found to alter the 400 West option to include rebuilding the North Temple viaduct so that TRAX can run down its center instead of alongside it on a separate bridge. It's estimated that could cost up to double the amount needed for either of the existing 400 West or 600 West options.

But it would mean Boyer, which owns The Gateway, could hold on to its land near North Temple, which is slated for a hotel and underground parking structure. Jake Boyer said at the Planning Commission hearing the company would support the 400 West route if it didn't impact the company's land or access to the planned parking lot.

City Councilman Eric Jergensen said Monday that rebuilding the North Temple viaduct is the best option. The Utah Department of Transportation is talking about handing over control of the entire street to the city, he said. That means a decision about - and the expense of - rebuilding the viaduct could fall to the city.

In addition to addressing concerns from the neighborhood and Boyer, Jergensen noted that rebuilding the bridge would spark "first-class" residential or mixed-use development along 600 West and open up opportunities for commercial development at the intersection of 400 West and North Temple, which is currently an overpass.

Jergensen believes most council members generally support a 400 West route. He expects building the airport TRAX line would require a "collaborative approach" with the next mayor.

The Planning Commission is expected to forward its recommendation for the light-rail line to the City Council in late October. The City Council likely would take a final vote in November.

rwinters@sltrib.com