It was apropos, because actually building the hub was a struggle, too, with second-guessing about the site and delays in construction.

But starting July 28, passengers boarding Greyhound buses will have a new space at 300 South and 600 West to wait out their trips to Idaho Falls, Phoenix, Las Vegas and beyond. The transportation company will move from its longtime home at 160 W. South Temple.

In its next phases, the $67 million hub will house passengers taking Amtrack trains. In 2008, heavy commuter rail should open, and riders traveling from Weber and Davis counties can pass through the hub and take a TRAX train downtown, once the light-rail line is extended from the Delta Center. The hub will also include UTA buses, taxis, bicycle facilities, and possibly a parking garage for commuters who live in the city and work in the suburbs.

"This is a critical link for our evolving mass-transit system," Mayor Rocky Anderson said. "It's going to transform this place, the entire region, for the better."

It was mainly former Mayor Deedee Corradini's doing. She envisioned the project and picked the site. Anderson tried to alter the location when he entered office in 2000, but came to the same conclusion that his preferred sites -namely the historic Rio Grande or Union Pacific depots - wouldn't work.

Corradini attended the ceremony - which also commended Sen. Bob Bennett for his part in securing federal funds - and was thanked by Anderson.

"I started the vision. We got the federal dollars. I wanted to be here to see it through," Corradini said. She praised Anderson for continuing the momentum, saying she believes the hub's location will better help link the city's east and west neighborhoods.

Anderson sees it as an economic-development spur, and as a model for environmentally friendly design. While it was built on contaminated land, the new structures will be certified as "green."

For example, the Greyhound passenger terminal relies on natural light (a sensor dims artificial lights when the sun is sufficient), it reuses bricks from now-demolished freight loading docks and the outdoor landscaping is drought tolerant.

hmay@sltrib.com