I N F R A S T R U C T U R E
Infrastructure Enhancement is Key to Growth by G A R Y D A U G H T E R S Salt Lake City International Airport is undergoing a $3.6 billion rebuild to handle increased passenger demand.
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Photo cour tesy of Salt Lake Cit y International Airpor t
tah considers itself the Crossroads of the West, a designation it claimed in 1869, when two rail lines were joined north of Great Salt Lake to form the first transcontinental railroad. The impact would be dramatic, with travel time between America’s east and west coasts reduced from a matter of months to less than one week. Marking the event’s 150th anniversary last May, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao told some 20,000 celebrants that the railway represented “one of the greatest infrastructure projects” in U.S. history. Infrastructure — whether rail, roads, energy, water or now broadband — remains as integral to life and commerce in Utah as it was when that spike was driven. As just one example, Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), now undergoing a $3.6 billion transformation, generates an estimated $1.1 billion in annual wages and income from an estimated 35,290 full-time
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jobs. SLC’s annual contribution of $1.9 billion represents close to 2% of Utah’s GDP. The airport, which offers non-stop flights to more than 100 cities, is served by 10 airlines and acts as a major hub for Delta. Originally built to accommodate 10 million passengers a year, the rebuilt Salt Lake City International will represent an increasingly robust economic driver, one better capable of handling the 26 million passengers it serves now. The rebuild, itself, to be accomplished in two phases, is projected to inject some $5.5 billion into the local economy while creating more than 3,300 jobs. The new airport will have one large, central terminal and two linear concourses connected by a passenger tunnel. In 2018, the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) marked the 10th anniversary of its FrontRunner commuter rail system that spans an 89-mile corridor through the state’s heavily populated Wasatch Front. FrontRunner serves a total of 16
