Called the Lucin Cutoff, it reduced the distance of the railway by 42 miles (68 km).
Building this thing was a herculean project.
Altogether, more than 38,000 trees were cut down to make piles for the trestle.
In addition, 2 million board feet of redwood decking were used for the actual railbed.
Maintaining the trestle proved to be just as costly.
The now solid causeway divided the lake into two bodies of water and the mixing of water stopped.
The lake has but no outlet and besides evaporation, there is no way to lose water.
The salinity difference has created two different ecosystems on the lake.
The south arm is dominated by blue-green algae, which colors the water green.
On the north arm, higher salt content has allowed the growth of the algaDunaliella Salina.
However, the causeway has proved to be very economical for commerce.
Two industries in particular are booming, one each on either end of the lake.
On the northern end, salt extraction industries are thriving on the increased salt and mineral concentration.
Salt evaporation ponds on the northern arm of Great Salt Lake.
