There’s a new and safer way to travel on foot or via bicycle while going west to east and back across Salt Lake City.

Officials held a ceremony Wednesday to open the revamped 400 South Viaduct Trail bridge, now with a protected bike lane that links the west side to downtown and the growing Granary District.

Mayor Erin Mendenhall said that segment along 400 South had previously been an unsafe and unwelcoming route to walk or bike, before construction of protective concrete barriers and other improvements along the trail. The stretch is now also complemented by a new piece of public art.

“For west-side residents,” Mendenhall said in a statement, “this trail means a safer, more direct way to reach downtown, school, work, parks, and more without needing a car.”

The route also links into improved bike lanes along 300 West, 200 West and 900 West, creating safer access for pedestrians and cyclists to key downtown destinations, the 9 Line and portions of the Jordan River.

The 400 South corridor, which crosses over rail lines and freeway approaches, offers a new east-west route across Utah’s capital where you don’t risk getting stuck waiting for a train.

The improvements to the 400 South corridor and the 300 West bike lane extension cost about $9.5 million, funded by the city and the Utah Department of Transportation.

Users of the viaduct trail can also enjoy a 2,000-foot-long art installation called "Strut," by Seattle-based artists Tom Drugan and Laura Hadded. The installation features a decorative bridge fence with translucent pieces rendered in colors drawn from surrounding neighborhoods and landscapes.

"Strut" is billed as the longest continuous piece of public artwork in Utah thus far, and is being touted as a new source of neighborhood pride.

Tammy Hunsaker, director of the city’s Department of Community and Neighborhoods, said art can transform how residents experience new amenities like the viaduct trail.

“It can create moments of wonder, belonging, and civic pride,” Hunsaker said, “in the places we move through every day.”

City officials helped to sponsor a 4.5-mile community bike ride Wednesday evening to celebrate both the 400 South trail and the 300 West bike path extension, in collaboration with the Poplar Grove Community Council and Neighborhood House.