Salt Lake City | Transit and Airport Developments

[Justin10000]

Mr. Chamberlain's post are full of soundbites, and no substance.

It would work well against the undecided voter, and the ignorant. But not here.

[delts145]

Originally Posted by WASDEN

So I found myself out in West Jordan yesterday with my camera, and was impressed with how much progress had been made on the Jordan TRAX line:
4800 W looking West:




4800 W looking East:



Overpass work at Bangeter:



Crews placing ties near 4000 W:



4000 W lookingEast:



Placing sound walls near Sugar Factory:



Overpass at 7800 S:

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[delts145]

Main Street, Salt Lake City ~ Light Rail Time Lapse

Originally Posted by arkhitektor

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[delts145]

Mid-Jodan TRAX Reaches Milestone



The Utah Transit Authority recently announced that the Mid-Jordan TRAX line is now approximatly 40% complete. This milestone was reached this past May as freight trains start using the new TRAX line for deliveries to local businesses. While the trains are using the new line, UTA will be cutting out the old freight line and realigning it to be parallel with the new TRAX line. Once the Mid-Jordan line is finished in late 2011, two lines will be used by TRAX during the day and by the freight trains at night.

When completed, the project will interline with the Sandy/Salt Lake TRAX Line with direct service to the Salt Lake Central Station in downtown Salt Lake City, where it will connect with UTA’s FrontRunner commuter rail system and bus service.


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Daybreak Pics by Skyguy414

Originally Posted by skyguy414

Here are some pics from Oquirrh Lake at Daybreak today. These are from the North end of the lake and is part of the more recent developments.

Seven businesses set to open in South Jordan's Daybreak community



Commerce » SoDa Row Village Center will feature a cafe, barbershop, children's clothing.

By Paul Beebe
The Salt Lake Tribune

Inhabitants of the Daybreak planned community in South Jordan, now numbering 8,000 people, are finally getting some commercial and retail company.

They'll be served by seven businesses, including a bank, a gym and a couple of eating establishments, set to open in the new SoDa Row Village Center on Daybreak Parkway, Scott Schwendiman, commercial development manager for Kennecott Land, said Friday.

The businesses are ...

» Black Diamond Gymnastics and Sports Center. The Park City-based company will occupy nearly 17,000 square feet of space.

Black Diamond plans a soft opening in mid-August, about a month before the center formally opens Sept. 19.

» San Gelato Cafe. The cafe will serve Italian ice cream, panini, sorbets and other food items in a 2,000-square-foot space. San Gelato will open sometime between Sept. 1 and Sept. 15.

» Tio's Mexican Restaurant. The 2,600-square-foot restaurant will serve lunch and dinner. It, too, will open after Sept. 1.

» Oopsie Daily. The children's store will sell clothes, shoes, furniture and gifts. It will occupy 2,200 square feet, with a soft opening in early September.

» Classic Cleaners. The 900-square-foot clothes cleaner will provide pickup and drop-off service. Its opening is planned for sometime between Sept.1 and Sept. 15.

» Guy's Barbershop. The one-chair shop will offer haircuts and straight razor shaves in a 228-square-foot space. Guy's will open in August.

»Zions Bank. The Zions branch office will occupy a building adjacent to SoDa Row. No opening date was announced.

SoDa Row consists of 68,000 square feet of space in five buildings. More tenants are expected to be announced in coming weeks.

"This group represents 37 percent of the [leasable] space. If everything were to happen that I know of today, we will be at 72 percent in the next four to six weeks," Schwendiman said.

Kennecott Land plans to build a 50,000-square-foot office building at the center in one or two years. The center also has retail pads and sites that could add another 20,000 to 50,000 square feet in the future.

About 2,000 houses in Daybreak are occupied. Kennecott Land expects to build 20,000 residences with a population of 45,000 people.

"The long-term plans for more homes and businesses make it the perfect site for us," said Brady Tanner, who is opening his third Classic Cleaners.

SoDa Row Shops Revealed


Daybreak Man Reporting: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DG

Daybreak is about to become the home to seven new locally-owned and operated businesses. Kennecott Land officially announced the tenants for the new SoDa Row mixed use commericial section of Daybreak. Daybreak residents will now have the chance to walk or ride a short distance to go out to eat, get a haircut, deposit a check, or take the kids to dance or karate lessons. Here is a list of the latest tentants to be contracted for SoDa Row:

Grab a meal

Tio’s Mexican Restaurant - As a decent Mexican resteraunt is not located even close to Daybreak, this place will be a welcome addition. Tio’s is a local Mexican restaurant with one other location currently open in Murray. I asked around about the place in Murray and heard good reviews consisting of authentic food and good service.

San Gelato Café - Gelato in Italian literally means "frozen" and that is what this cafe will mainly serve - Italian icecream. 36 different flavors to be exact. Not in the mood for dessert? Try the a panini, an italian sandwich which has become immensly popular here in America. Pizza, salads, soups, and wraps will also be served at this cafe. Learn more at www.sangelatocafe.com

Flips, Dance, and so much more

Black Diamond Gymnastics - Black Diamond is a Park City based business that will open a second location in Daybreak. It provides gymnastics, dance, cheer and martial arts. However, the list of activities at this new state of the art facility will be wide ranging. Right Star Academy, an academic preschool and tutoring program, will be integrated into the facility as well. Black Diamond offers unique services. An example? How about the Big Air program. The Big Air program is especially for skiers, boarders, skaters, etc. The curriculum focuses on trampoline and tumbling instruction designed to enhance core strength, air awareness and self-confidence while learning the proper technique of flipping and twisting. Learn more at www.blackdiamondgym.com

Get a Haircut

Guy's Barbershop - A truly local establishment where local owner, Guy Dumas, will provide the traditional hair cutting services as a one-man show. Want to know about the neighborhood and the locals? I would ask him. As part of his job description, he will be more knowledgable about individual residents than anyone.

Kids and Clothes

Oopsie Daisy will be the new children's botique in Daybreak. It will offer distinctive children’s clothes, shoes, gifts and furniture. Not a bad idea considering Daybreak is crawling with youngsters.

The Cleaners

Classic Cleaners is an environmentally aware business with two other locations in the valley. I've personally heard good reviews about the other locations. Usually people mention a quick turn around time and friendly service.

Stash the Cash

Zions Bank - Founded in 1873 in Utah, this bank has been a major entity in Utah business from the beginning. Now a local branch will be located in SoDa Row for the convenience of residents.

Author: Daybreak Man at 2:54 PM

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[miketoronto]

Does anyone have stats on the % of commuters who use transit in Salt Lake City? Has the % of commuters done up who are using transit?

I think that is one of the only ways to show people who are against this if transit is working or not. You gotta show them that on a % basis transit is capturing more of the ride.

This is one of the sore spots with places like Portland, where massive transit expansion has resulted in actually a lower % of residents taking transit.

[delts145]

Originally Posted by MetroFanatic

According to the APTA, there was nearly a 30% increase of TRAX ridership in the 3rd quarter and another 10% increase in the 4th quarter (http://www.apta.com/research/stats/r...nts/08q4lr.pdf). Man! Those riders are just jumping off the train and into their cars at an alarming rate!

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[delts145]

Easing congestion: FrontRunner South progresses as crews unveil rail addition

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...-addition.html

...Monday afternoon, UTA crews showed off their newest mile-long rail addition near the future Lehi station on the FrontRunner South line, which will eventually run from Salt Lake City to Provo...


Construction crews work Monday on the new mile-long rail addition near the future Lehi FrontRunner South station. (Brendan Sullivan, Deseret News)

...Provo is coordinating with other cities to submit "quiet zone" applications to the Federal Railroad Administration, and Carpenter said he expects all 45 miles of the south line to receive that status, just like the north line.


Construction begins on a new 45-mile-long commuter rail line that will offer high-capacity transit services between Salt Lake City and it's southern metro of Provo. (Brendan Sullivan, Deseret News)

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[delts145]

Earth Work begins on airport TRAX line

Construction crews began heavy work Wednesday morning to build the six-mile light-rail track that will connect downtown to the Salt Lake City International Airport.



Workers for Stacy & Witbeck Inc. and Kiewit Western Co., which are working for the Utah Transit Authority on the $300 million project, are clearing away vegetation and stabilizing the grade over a wetlands area. The track will run on a combination of city and airport roads, as well as on land adjacent to roads, according to UTA plans...



A contractor with Stacy and Wilbeck Inc. move earth along Interstate 80 near Salt Lake City International Airport to make way for a Utah Transit Authority Trax line from Downtown Salt Lake City to the airport Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009. Barton Glasser, Deseret News (Barton Glasser, Deseret News)

Crews will also place geotextile mats over the soil, lay reclaimed concrete over the mats, and then dump between 3,000 and 4,000 truckloads of soil on the corridor. That's before laying ballast "railroad" stones and track, said Matt Sibul, UTA project manager for the airport TRAX line.

Drivers should expect trucks merging and exiting North Temple and airport access roads for the next couple of years. The airport line is expected to open in late 2012 or early 2013.

"The travelling public should slow down and maybe give themselves extra time to get to the airport," Sibul said.

For now, crews are working on a two-mile stretch of land adjacent 2400 West and North Temple. Crews will eventually begin working on track on North Temple and on airport roads. They will also be on the streets to build a FrontRunner commuter-rail transfer station at roughly 500 West and North Temple from which FrontRunner passengers can take the airport TRAX line.

Mass transit users will also be able to hop the airport TRAX line from the existing Arena TRAX station at 301 W. South Temple, but will not be able to access the line from the Salt Lake Central Station, also known as the Intermodal Hub, at 250 S. 600 West. That's because Salt Lake City and its residents requested the airport TRAX line run along 400 West instead of 600 West, before it heads west on North Temple, UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter said.

About 13,500 people work at the Salt Lake airport, while thousands more use it for travel. When the line opens, UTA expects 9,000 to 10,000 passengers a day, Sibul said.

"We're looking at a mix," he said. "It's probably half-and-half" airport employees and travelers.

Light-rail trains will probably run to the airport every 15 minutes, Sibul said.


Barton Glasser, Deseret News

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[delts145]

UTA, West Valley open transit hub

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...ansit-hub.html

Officials from the Utah Transit Authority and West Valley City on Thursday opened to the public an Intermodal Transit Hub at 3650 S. 2800 West that will serve as a transfer station for multiple bus routes, including the 3500 South bus rapid-transit service...

...The Intermodal Transit Hub also will be a connecting point for light rail that is being constructed in the area.


The newly opened and operating site of the new West Valley Intermodal Hub at 3650 South and 2800 West in West Valley City on Thursday. (Mike Terry, Deseret News)


Crews from Stacy and Whitbeck Inc. / Kiewit Western Co. work on the West Valley Trax Line, a 5.1 mile light rail extension beginning at 2100 South Station and ending at West Valley City Hall. The Trax stop is being constructed at the site of the new West Valley Intermodal Hub at 3650 South and 2800 West in West Valley City on Thursday. (Mike Terry, Deseret News)

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[Jayayess1190]

Wow. I am jealous of how much progress cities like SLC can make with transit while Septa struggles in Philly.

[a chicago bearcat]

I had always thought of Salt Lake as a pretty conservative area. How has it been possible to get so much new light rail infrastructure in such a short time, with that political climate. It's meant doom during any ballot initiative in Cincinnati.

[cololi]

Salt lake had two failed public initiatives to raise the sales tax to build it. The first leg was essential, if it didn't work, things would have happened a lot slower. After the first line was shown to be popular, a second line was built and it had similar success. After that, a public vote to raise the sales tax was approved. The increase is funding three new lines and an extension of an existing line as well as the southern leg of the frontrunner commuter line through salt lake county. It has not been easy and a lot of political capital has been spent, even on the conservative side of the aisle.


A couple of things that cannot be taken for granted:
1. The olympics. Without the olympics, we would be much further behind in the development of the system. The first line was able to get 80% federal funding, due to the olympics. Otherwise, we would have had to pony up 40-60% of the cost.

2. The region has a severe air quality problem. Luckily, the federal govt. has been pretty good about helping to fund these projects, as well as other road projects so we can become compliant with DEQ air pollution standards. But, the state legislature has also been forced into appropriating more funds for mass transit so that we can continue to obtain federal funding.

3. Our system connects popular destinations: the U, sports arenas and stadiums, downtown, suburban communities, public facilities, etc.

4. We have one transit agency that operates the commuter, light rail and bus systems and soon a street car system. makes it much easier to work with one and to coordinate between systems and communities.

[Future Mayor]

Originally Posted by a chicago bearcat

I had always thought of Salt Lake as a pretty conservative area. How has it been possible to get so much new light rail infrastructure in such a short time, with that political climate. It's meant doom during any ballot initiative in Cincinnati.

Having lived in Ohio for several years while attending school it is amazing how entrenched people in the mid-west seem to be. While Utah is a VERY Conservative state there does seem to be those that are willing to try new things and embrace those things when they are proven to be successful. I think in a sense there is still a feeling of the wild west out here in the western states. Maybe we feel that those that settled the area were willing to go out into the unknown in order to do so and those living there now seem to still have that mentality in one way or another.

[Cirrus]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

This is one of the sore spots with places like Portland, where massive transit expansion has resulted in actually a lower % of residents taking transit.

Uh, no. Transit expansion has not "resulted" in lower mode share. Correlation does not imply causation.

Originally Posted by chicago bearcat

I had always thought of Salt Lake as a pretty conservative area.

The Mormon community is conservative from a religious standpoint, but they're all about taking care of the community. They are a unique, socialist-leaning breed of conservative. [/Huge Generalization]

[i-215]

Yeah. I'll ditto that. Utah is a very unique brand of "conservative." I mean, most conservatives in the south hate Mormons. :lol:

From a transportation point of view, I'd say we Utahns just like to see progress. We know infrastructure is the key to keeping moving, so everyone gives an OK to any form of new construction, be it five light rail lines or the new Mountain View Corridor freeway. I don't think most people here see LRT as a political (red vs. blue) issue. It's like running sewer lines, everyone is for 'em, not matter how you lean politically.

[delts145]

I-15 bridge set for installation

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...tallation.html


Illustration shows the diverging diamond interchange UDOT is building in American Fork. (Udot)

...But it's not just any bridge. The new American Fork Main Street bridge over I-15 will be the longest and heaviest concrete bridge in the state.

The precast girders, or support beams, are 192 feet long. It will weigh 4,356 tons...

...Installation of the bridge will be such a process that UDOT is ready for spectators. People may watch on Friday night and Saturday morning. Parking will be available at the park-and-ride lot southwest of the freeway. A flagger will be posted to help spectators enter a viewing area beginning at 9:30 p.m. Friday.

"Seating will not be provided," a UDOT notice says. "Please dress warmly."...

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Originally Posted by SLC Projects

"American Fork Bridge Moving"
• Video Link
I was there last night from around 11:30 to 1:00 this morning. While I was there the bridge was over the freeway, but crews were having a hard time and the wheels kept sinking in the dirt. A few times the bridge had to back up and then move forward again. This went on for about an hour. But here is a video I put together of what I got. It moves very slowly so you will need to look at a object {the spot lights in the background or the workers standing} to see it move. Enjoy.

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[delts145]

Sysco unveils retrofitted natural gas-fueled truck

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...gas-truck.html


Greg Dahl of Applied LNG Technologies explains how the Sysco truck's new engine works. (August Miller, Deseret News)

...On Friday, food service distributor Sysco Intermountain rolled out its latest green project, a tractor-truck retrofitted to use compressed natural gas.

The tractor averages more than 50,000 miles a year along the Wasatch Front and the company says the retrofit will reduce particulate matter by 400 pounds annually. The CNG also will reduce the amount of diesel fuel the company uses by almost 15,000 gallons. The CNG can travel on one gallon as far as 50 gallons of diesel will go — and right now it's only 94 cents a gallon...

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[TonyAnderson]

Originally Posted by i-215

Yeah. I'll ditto that. Utah is a very unique brand of "conservative." I mean, most conservatives in the south hate Mormons. :lol:

From a transportation point of view, I'd say we Utahns just like to see progress. We know infrastructure is the key to keeping moving, so everyone gives an OK to any form of new construction, be it five light rail lines or the new Mountain View Corridor freeway. I don't think most people here see LRT as a political (red vs. blue) issue. It's like running sewer lines, everyone is for 'em, not matter how you lean politically.

I also think because the state has basically one large freeway, and is limited by the mountains, and the fact that it snows a lot, all helps in having people embrace mass transit and less vehicle driving.

I think the Olympics did wonders though as well.

[kpexpress]

Originally Posted by Jayayess1190

Wow. I am jealous of how much progress cities like SLC can make with transit while Septa struggles in Philly.

I feel the same way about MTS in San Diego. They're supposed to be expanding the network with a Northbound Trolley line toward La Jolla and UTC to service UCSD and the Northern communities, but nothing yet. I don't expect to see any ground breaking as the city is currently facing a 176 Million dollar budget deficit.

[delts145]

Let the traffic flow: I-80 reconstruction is officially complete

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...-complete.html


Traffic moves freely through the I-80 corridor on Thursday as UDOT officially opened the interstate from State Street to 1300 East. Officials celebrated the completion of the Innovate 80 campaign one year ahead of schedule, which included 12 projects. The last remaining closure is the on ramp for northbound traffic on 1300 East to access the freeway going westbound. That ramp will be completed in time for the Monday commute. (Francisco Kjolseth / The Salt Lake Tribune )


The freeway reconstruction between State Street and 1300 East, called "Innovate 80" by the Utah Department of Transportation, was officially completed Thursday,...The project cost the state $139 million.

I-80 now has five lanes in each direction, as crews built an additional travel lane in each direction and "auxiliary lanes" for on- and off-ramps that will give traffic more space to merge into travel lanes.

Crews also built 17 bridges, including at 300 East, 500 East, 600 East, 700 East, 900 East and Highland Drive. Bridge work was also done at State Street.


Rick Wilson, left, helps Gov. Gary Herbert maneuver a self-propelled modular transporter during the I-80 reopening. (Michael Brandy, Deseret News)


http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_13774999?source=rv


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