Heading to the BYU-Utah game? What to know about traffic and transit

SALT LAKE CITY — BYU and Utah kick off at 10 a.m. Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium. University of Utah police are encouraging fans to arrive early, and the Utah Transit Authority is adding buses and extra cars to TRAX trains for the rivalry game.

If you're driving

University of Utah Police Lt. Ryan Speers said he expects the heaviest traffic on 500 South near the stadium, especially in the last 45 minutes before kickoff. Stadium gates open at 8 a.m.

Guardsman Way will close to through traffic at 7 a.m. and is expected to reopen after kickoff. Police also expect rolling closures between about 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. on roads around the stadium, including Foothill Drive and South Campus Drive.

For rideshare pickups after the game, police recommend meeting drivers on University Street between South Campus Drive and 300 South.

If you're taking transit

The TRAX Red Line stops at the stadium. Red Line trains will run on their normal morning schedule, and special buses to the stadium will start running at 8 a.m. from Salt Lake Central and Courthouse stations.

Fans coming from Utah County can take FrontRunner to Murray Central and transfer to the Red Line, or stay on FrontRunner to Salt Lake Central and catch one of the buses.

"Plan accordingly. Obviously, it's a big game — it's one of the biggest games of the year — so we expect it to be pretty crowded on our service and get more crowded as we get closer to kickoff," said Thomas Lee, public relations coordinator for the Utah Transit Authority.

Game tickets double as fare on UTA buses, TRAX and FrontRunner all day Saturday. Fans can show their game ticket if asked for fare, including on the ride home.

Lee recommends using the Transit app to track buses and trains in real time.