Salt Lake City | Transit and Airport Developments

[i-215]

Are the plans to just renovate and keep A and B-gates dead?

[s.p.hansen]

Originally Posted by s.p.hansen

A few things have changed with the New Airport plans:

1. The second concourse will be built in the first phase of the aiport.

2. This means that the entire old airport will be torn down and not grafted into the new airport.

3. The tunnel running underground connecting the two concourses will not have a tram, but rather, several moving walkways.

4. The first phase of the airport will be completed by 2020.

Originally Posted by i-215

Are the plans to just renovate and keep A and B-gates dead?

See above 2.

Yes

[delts145]

Originally Posted by Hatman

FrontRunner cars now have the extra WiFi antennas for faster internet. These are the sharp black fins; the round black one is from the original system.

Pic By Hatman

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[delts145]

New Bike Cars

Originally Posted by Hatman

I took FrontRunner today! TRAX was having issues with something, so I decided to check out my old commuting mode again for old time's sake
(I know - I'm a total nerd and I've already made my peace with it). And, to my surprise, I found the new and improved bike car!

Here is my beautiful bike in the upper rack:

And the whole car:

Pics By Hatman

Several things made me very happy.
1) The bike racks can be accessed individually. No need to ever have to lift your bike up and over some other dude's bike to get your trapped bike out.
2) There is room for 15 bikes. This is much more than the older and less convenient bike racks are designed to handle.
3) The seating on the lower level has been turned perpendicular in order to leave enough room for the bikes. It makes the lower level feel much roomier.
I also like how they have dangling handles to help people get up and down, or even to hold onto if you're a standee in the bike car.
4) That FrontRunner map is icing on the cake.

I hope UTA transforms all its bike cars to be this way. It is such a better system than the old one.

Other thoughts:
Salt Lake Central Station is still an embarrassment. It's got good bones, but its still just a skeleton of what it could be. Not much of a station, really, just a concrete patio in a bad part of town. Let's just say I'm impatient for improvements to be made.
FrontRunner really needs to be double-tracked. The southbound left Salt Lake Central at an encouraging speed, right on time - but then we jostled into a siding and stopped. The northbound was late, and so we sat their until we were just as late as it was. It's just amazing to me that within 2 minutes of leaving the 'cushion' station (Salt Lake Central gives trains a chance to catch up on their schedules) we were already in a siding and late. I predict FrontRunner ridership will plateau and stagnate and maybe even begin to decline until trains can run on time. This is a serious shortcoming of the whole system, and it needs to be fixed ASAP.

But I like the bike cars. Good work there.

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[delts145]

Originally Posted by Hatman

This is a South Salt Lake City thing, so I think it goes here...
Parley's Trail. It's planned to run from Parley's Canyon all the way down to the Jordan River Trail. Some of that length will be along the S-Line trail. The TRAX bridge over Roper Yard on the Green Line was built to carry a bike trail on the south side, but was never finished.
UNTIL NOW. Or sometime this summer. It isn't actually open yet (as I was to discover), but on the east side of the bridge there was no construction barrier or sign saying it wasn't open yet, so I went on up and had a look. There is a new steel bridge over 600 West, installed over the winter, that allows this whole project to work. I think it will be my new favorite place to watch trains; it goes right over the yard, two mainline tracks, FrontRunner, and TRAX is up on the bridge with you. It's pretty great. I just wanted to share how much I love it:






This trail links 300 West with 900 West. At 900 West you need to 'jaywalk' across the road to get to the Jordan River Trail connector, which is about 900 feet south of the new trail's head. Hopefully a pedestrian signal (or better, grade separation) is in the planning stages. Then, all that will be left, is to somehow bridge the gap between 300 West and State Street - about 4 blocks. Once that is done, the trail will be complete. And it will be glorious. I love how much biking and walking infrastructure is being built out in the valley. It adds so much to the community and makes Salt Lake a great place to live.

Pics By Hatman

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[delts145]

Planning Mass Transit For Utah's Booming Population - Three of the States Metropolitan Areas Among The Fastest Growing in the Country

Isaac Riddle Reports - Full Article @ http://www.buildingsaltlake.com/offi...ng-population/

...The Wasatch Front where most of the state’s population is concentrated has geographic barriers that will force state and municipal leaders to look at how the region’s growth is managed.

“We are running out of space,” said Ted Knowlton, the deputy director of the Wasatch Front Regional Council. “We can’t widen a number of our key transportation corridors.”

Knowlton presented updates to the WFRC’s regional plan for Salt Lake, Davis and Weber Counties Thursday during a lunch gathering for the Utah Chapter of the Urban Land Institute.

The WFRC is in the process of drafting its newest plan for regional growth, the Wasatch Choice 2050 and the Regional Transportation Plan. According to Knowlton the plan is still in the community outreach phase and will be more ambitious than past plans...


The Daybreak community is a master-planned community that encourages walkability by building amenities within close proximity to residences. Photo by flickr user Photo Dean.

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[delts145]

Updates - Salt Lake City International Airport

Originally Posted by jtrent77

Watch the fly through video of the terminal.
You go in check-in, then go DOWN a level to get to the concourse level (where security is shown). Walk to the concourse, and then walk out to the gates.

[IMG][/IMG]

Originally Posted by jubguy3

May 17, 2017

The first steel beam was erected May 17 for the South Concourse, signaling the start of vertical construction.

During the next 13-17 weeks, 21,600 tons of steel (an average of 30-40 tons per day) will be brought to the site for the South Concourse, Terminal and Gateway Center.

Directional signs for the new Park-and-Wait lot are being installed in preparation for a June 1 opening.

More than 400 construction workers are now on site.




May 31, 2017

New Park and Wait lot opens June 1, 2017.

Construction crews are building rebar cage towers (24’ high) for the parking garage and rebar cage columns (33’ high) for the elevated roadway.

Preparations are underway for North Concourse construction.

Work to extend existing tunnel to connect the South and North Concourses.

About 430 workers currently on site.

Concrete pours taking place for Terminal walls.




June 14, 2017


- Waterproofing of terminal tunnel ongoing

- Poured concrete for first elevated roadway column

- Reached 460 trade contractors on site

- Steel erection on South Concourse-West continues

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[tdawg]

I'm fascinated by Salt Lake City. What's it like to live there as a non-Mormon?

[jubguy3]

Originally Posted by tdawg

I'm fascinated by Salt Lake City. What's it like to live there as a non-Mormon?

I was born in Salt Lake City. My family is methodist and very, very liberal... It depends precisely on where you live. Out in Utah County and the far reaches of Utah, it tends to be incredibly isolating and oppressive... however, Salt Lake proper, Millcreek, and Olympus cove are great places to live. I am perfectly happy as a liberal here. You can generally escape the Mormon "sphere of influence" depending on where you live and who you associate with. The scenery and quality of life is incredible, and overall I've found that the economy in Salt Lake City is great. That being said, its impossible to completely separate yourself from the Republican, Mormon political scene. We have some weird laws (look up zion curtain), and of course liberals in SLC are at the mercy of the State. That being said, Utah is an incredible place to be, with quick access to the most beautiful national parks in North America, and Salt Lake City is surrounded by mountains within 2-15ish miles on all sides except the extreme northwest. Its like Colorado, but more kooky, and without the traffic / texans / smug coloradans.

[delts145]

Update - Salt Lake City International Airport

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[TonyAnderson]

Originally Posted by tdawg

I'm fascinated by Salt Lake City. What's it like to live there as a non-Mormon?

I believe a quarter of SLC is mormon (25%), while Salt Lake County is half (50%). It mostly just feels like any large area in America, but you'll see more churches and what not. Incredibly industrious and productive state with great access to good Universities.

[delts145]

Originally Posted by JMK

Cranes out at the airport



https://www.facebook.com/thinkbigd/

Pic By JMK

[delts145]

Originally Posted by jubguy3

possibly good news for slc. There's some weird stock-purchasing agreement going on between delta, air france - klm, and china eastern to purchase stock in virgin atlantic. Virgin isn't a member of skyteam but it sounds like delta and its associates are pushing virgin towards joining. The incorporation of china eastern may mark a good sign for slc - flights to and from shanghai? And possibly flights on virgin atlantic to lhr considering that virgin isn't in an alliance yet? - this will open up slots at lhr for skyteam which has traditionally been very expensive to purchase spots at. I don't really understand the specifics of the deal and regulatory approval is still required but considering that it involves skyteam hopefully its good news for salt lake.

Originally Posted by stenar

Delta, Air France-KLM, Virgin Atlantic, and China Eastern have announced a billion-dollar mega-deal

benjamin zhang
business insider
27 july 2017

"on thursday, delta air lines and china eastern airlines announced that they have each purchased 10% of air france-klm.

Delta and china eastern's stake in air france-klm comes in the form of new shares from capital increases valued at $875 million.

In addition, air france-klm has agreed to purchase a 31% stake in virgin atlantic airways from sir richard branson's virgin group valued at $287 million...."

"in 2012, delta acquired a 49% stake in virgin atlantic airways from singapore airlines in a deal worth $360 million.

In 2015, delta acquired 3.2% of china eastern airlines for $450 million."

http://www.businessinsider.com/delta...ce-deal-2017-7

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[jubguy3]

The SLC Airport YouTube page posted another construction B-roll video of the tunnel for the media. As far as I can tell it looks like it's going to be fairly spacious.

https://youtu.be/kqC1fi97jBw

[jubguy3]

Another construction update was posted on the airport website here. If you're curious about the renderings of the airport they can be found here.

Originally Posted by jubguy3

August 9, 2017

• Poured concrete columns for elevated roadway and parking garage
• Continued erecting steel for South Concourse
• Averaged 550 workers on-site daily
• Continued concrete pours for terminal tunnel

[redblock]

As Salt Lake City is now a rail passenger equipment building town thanks to Stadler, I hope that the local posters can include some news from their plant. It is at 900 N. 500 W.

There are reports that the first TexRail train for Fort Worth has been completed and will be moved to Atlanta for the American Public Transportation Association convention on Oct. 9-11.

If we are lucky they might allow occasional visits.

Stadler will also build the bi-level electric trains for Caltrain.

[Hatman]

I've shared a picture of the first TexRail DMU, which I took on Labor Day:


Thanks for the dates - I'll be sure to get more pictures with a better camera before it leaves town.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Do you think the UTA will order some Stadlers for the Front Runner?

[Hatman]

There is plenty of talk here of double-tracking and electrifying the FrontRunner. If that happens, the subsequent EMU order would be Stadler's to lose.

I really really hope this happens. Realistically, the soonest it could happen would be 5-10 years from now; we've got too many highway expansion projects eating up our state funding.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Oh wow, never thought they consider electrification... What about an Expansion via a New Tunnel to Logan?