I grew up in rural Nevada. Roughly four hours drive south from Wendover in a tiny busted mining town called Pioche.
I've lived in Salt Lake City most of my adult life. A few times a year I drive out to Bonneville to take a look. What strikes me the most is that "Lands End" is in an arbitrary location with no discernible reason for why the pavement ends "there". (Disclaimer: I was born in 1970, and participated at a Bonneville competition event for the first time in 2011)
Considering the gigantic collective value the Bonneville Salt Flats represents to the entire world, Why In the Hell (?!?!?!) does Bonneville have less apparent infrastructure and maintenance than most municipal golf courses or ski resorts in the United States? I suggest its a matter of 'ownership'.
There are Country Clubs, Yacht Clubs, Golf Courses, or Municipal Airports all over the U.S. that get, frankly, an assload of federal and state dollars to maintain their (obviously!) limited "public interest".
One Question (that I would ask to all the "Stewards" of Bonneville Salt Flats, including but not limited to; The State of Utah, the BLM, Tooele County, all the sanctioning bodies before -and including the SCTA-BNI, the un-policed (wink-wink) mining companies, and pretty much every entity that has made a dime off the Salt Flats:
Why the Hell isn't there a properly surveyed-and-engineered, gated (and controlled by the BLM) CONCRETE road from 'lands end' to the actual area where the "Bonneville Speedway" is actually located?
There have been signs right on I-80 for decades, that declare this "Speedway" thing to oblivious highway travelers. It's really a letdown that something so important is just 'out there' with an utterly random, ad-hoc entrance that provides a literal vehicle for hundreds of tons of salt to stowaway and leave on vehicles every year.
Until someone with some political juice takes ownership of Bonneville and sees to it that the largest money machine the world has ever known (Hint: The US Government) finances deliberate, engineered improvements to the place that is laughably designated a "Park", the same rogue's gallery of people (private or public, innocent or corrupt) will continue to rape Bonneville to oblivion.
Abe Potter
P.S.
Hell, every silly, contrived lake and reservoir in Utah has a pretty damn nice, engineered boat launching ramp. Some even have dams that cost exponentially more than the paltry, pitiful maintenance Bonneville has received over the last 100 years.
Makes me sick...