Salt Lake International Airport Development Thread

[Reeder113]

Don't know how I missed this one. They keep sneaking in random pictures, but I always love a good aerial shot.



Here's a bigger version of the same shot:

https://slcairport.com/thenewslc/reb...gress-gallery/

[Atlas]

You can really see how undersized the pickup and dropoff zones are from that view. I'm mostly happy with the design of the new airport, especially when the central tunnel opens, but the entrance just seems woefully underbuilt to me.

[N830MH]

I received my message from SLC Facebook private message. They told me they began construction the concourse B east. They says yes.

Yes, we've began working on the foundation for Concourse B east. More information about construction phases and timing can be found on our website: https://slcairport.com/thenewslc/future-phases/

[Reeder113]

North Concourse East footings and foundations July 20 2022



Tunnel moving walkway pallets July 20 2022



https://slcairport.com/thenewslc/reb...gress-gallery/

[wrendog]

Originally Posted by Atlas

You can really see how undersized the pickup and dropoff zones are from that view. I'm mostly happy with the design of the new airport, especially when the central tunnel opens, but the entrance just seems woefully underbuilt to me.

Yup. That's my biggest grip by far. The terminal frontage is ridiculously small. I'm in San Antonio and the San Antonio frontage is longer and the airport is much smaller.

That griping about the maximum 13 minutes of walking? Get outta here with that. It's a major airport. you're gonna walk occasionally.

[airhero]

By my measurement on google maps the drop off zone is very similar length to the one at San Antonio airport. People forget the drop off zone extends several hundred feet beyond the building structure on each side. I actually like it because people don’t think to stop there to drop off/pick up and it’s a guaranteed open space every time I go to and from the airport. You might think well it’s just a further walk, but the walking distance is no further than if the structure extended to each end of the zone.

The zone also has the added advantage of zero crosswalks on either level, which has a large effect on fluidity. Most airports do have crosswalks on at least one of arrivals/drop offs. That was the most frustrating thing about the old airport.

[wrendog]

Originally Posted by airhero

By my measurement on google maps the drop off zone is very similar length to the one at San Antonio airport. People forget the drop off zone extends several hundred feet beyond the building structure on each side. I actually like it because people don’t think to stop there to drop off/pick up and it’s a guaranteed open space every time I go to and from the airport. You might think well it’s just a further walk, but the walking distance is no further than if the structure extended to each end of the zone.

The zone also has the added advantage of zero crosswalks on either level, which has a large effect on fluidity. Most airports do have crosswalks on at least one of arrivals/drop offs. That was the most frustrating thing about the old airport.

LOL. Yeah, I did the same thing with google maps. It is similar to SAT, but like I said, SAT is a much smaller airport overall.

Anyway, I hope it doesn't end up biting SLC in the butt as the area continues to grow

[N830MH]

Originally Posted by Reeder113

North Concourse East footings and foundations July 20 2022

https://slcairport.com/thenewslc/reb...gress-gallery/

Actually, this is concourse B East, not North Concourse. They began construction the concourse B East. It should be completed in late 2024.

[Paniolo Man]

Originally Posted by N830MH

Actually, this is concourse B East, not North Concourse. They began construction the concourse B East. It should be completed in late 2024.

As outlined in the redevelopment plan "Concourse B" and "North Concourse" refer to the same thing. The reason for the terms "North Concourse" and "South Concourse" was to distinguish between then and the old SLC's A & B concourses. The future Concourse that is still in planning is just called "Concourse C" because there is no longer a naming conflict.

[delts145]

I'm not an expert in airport design like some of you guys so excuse me if this comment is a bit simplistic. Given that the SLC Airport is designed to be conveniently repetitive as the area continues to grow, wouldn't it make sense for the arrivals/drop-off area to simply be repeated further to the north as new connections, airlines, and passenger loads increase? I mean that's pretty much what many of your large airports like L.A.X have done. There have been numerous official comments that SLC has much more room for expansion than many of the nation's current major airports. I remember reading that SLC was building the overall airport in such a way as to accommodate needed future expansion/duplication. Development heads even bragged about how all aspects of the airport had the capacity and room to expand into infinity. Someday, probably not too far off, I can see the current arrivals area as being relieved by a twin expansion. What now serves multiple airlines will probably end up serving basically just Delta.

[Reeder113]

Originally Posted by Paniolo Man

As outlined in the redevelopment plan "Concourse B" and "North Concourse" refer to the same thing. The reason for the terms "North Concourse" and "South Concourse" was to distinguish between then and the old SLC's A & B concourses. The future Concourse that is still in planning is just called "Concourse C" because there is no longer a naming conflict.

This.

[N830MH]

Hi all,

Thought you like to read the news about SLC construction progress.

https://www.enr.com/articles/54493-a...tp59&fs=e&s=cl

[Reeder113]

Originally Posted by N830MH

Hi all,

Thought you like to read the news about SLC construction progress.

https://www.enr.com/articles/54493-a...tp59&fs=e&s=cl

Thanks.

Here are some images from that link.

[Paniolo Man]

Originally Posted by N830MH

Hi all,

Thought you like to read the news about SLC construction progress.

https://www.enr.com/articles/54493-a...tp59&fs=e&s=cl

Still interested in knowing why HDJV is working on the North Concourse now rather than AOJV who built the first half. Not that I have any quarrel with HDJV, just interested in knowing why they decided to proceed with only one of the initial two contractors.

[Reeder113]

South Concourse East terrazzo fill - July 27, 2022



South Concourse East early baggage storage equipment - July 27, 2022



North Concourse East carousel - July 27, 2022



https://slcairport.com/thenewslc/reb...gress-gallery/

[ucsbgaucho]

Originally Posted by wrendog

Yup. That's my biggest grip by far. The terminal frontage is ridiculously small. I'm in San Antonio and the San Antonio frontage is longer and the airport is much smaller.

That griping about the maximum 13 minutes of walking? Get outta here with that. It's a major airport. you're gonna walk occasionally.

Was thinking about this, is the size of the drop-off areas and the central terminal smaller than we think it should be because SLC is such a hub for connecting flights compared to travel that starts or ends in SLC? I'm not sure the terminology or where to find the stats, but out of the 22~ million passengers that SLC serves right now, how many of those are just connecting between flights and not actually going through the main terminal or needing dropoff/pickup? Could that have been one of the reasons why the airport will eventually have so many gates as they plan but with a seemingly-undersized terminal, because the amount of traffic starting and ending in SLC is still relatively small? It will grow of course, but space for passengers within the concourses themselves may be more important than space within the terminal.

[wrendog]

Originally Posted by ucsbgaucho

Was thinking about this, is the size of the drop-off areas and the central terminal smaller than we think it should be because SLC is such a hub for connecting flights compared to travel that starts or ends in SLC? I'm not sure the terminology or where to find the stats, but out of the 22~ million passengers that SLC serves right now, how many of those are just connecting between flights and not actually going through the main terminal or needing dropoff/pickup? Could that have been one of the reasons why the airport will eventually have so many gates as they plan but with a seemingly-undersized terminal, because the amount of traffic starting and ending in SLC is still relatively small? It will grow of course, but space for passengers within the concourses themselves may be more important than space within the terminal.

Yes. Term you are looking for is O&D (origin and destination) passengers. SLC seems to have decent O&D numbers for it's size. It's hard to find an actual ranking, honestly.

I found this from the Orlando airport website. Seems legit, but it's hard to believe that Denver has more O&D passengers than NYC, Chicago or Las Vegas..

https://orlandoairports.net/site/upl...ing-202112.pdf

[Paniolo Man]

Originally Posted by wrendog

Yes. Term you are looking for is O&D (origin and destination) passengers. SLC seems to have decent O&D numbers for it's size. It's hard to find an actual ranking, honestly.

I found this from the Orlando airport website. Seems legit, but it's hard to believe that Denver has more O&D passengers than NYC, Chicago or Las Vegas..

https://orlandoairports.net/site/upl...ing-202112.pdf

NYC has 3 major airports, Chicago has 2. Vegas visitors more often arrive by car.

Denver has a lot of origin business travelers and a lot of destination skiers and tourists coming to see national parks, same with SLC.

[wrendog]

Originally Posted by Paniolo Man

NYC has 3 major airports, Chicago has 2. Vegas visitors more often arrive by car.

Denver has a lot of origin business travelers and a lot of destination skiers and tourists coming to see national parks, same with SLC.

Yeah, good point about NYC and Chicago. Duh. Still surprising to see Denver so high

[ucsbgaucho]

Originally Posted by wrendog

Yes. Term you are looking for is O&D (origin and destination) passengers. SLC seems to have decent O&D numbers for it's size. It's hard to find an actual ranking, honestly.

I found this from the Orlando airport website. Seems legit, but it's hard to believe that Denver has more O&D passengers than NYC, Chicago or Las Vegas..

https://orlandoairports.net/site/upl...ing-202112.pdf

Yah according to that, just over 60% of our traffic is O&D (thanks for that reference), so makes a little more sense that with 40% of passengers never needing to see the main terminal or use the curbside areas, SLC doesn't need that area to be huge. I guess the thought is, did they plan the ability to expand those areas as O&D traffic increases and that central terminal becomes too small?

I've always thought it an outdated way to run airports with all passengers coming to one place for security, ticketing, etc. I'm surprised no airports have instituted remote ticketing/security/checkin sites that are then connected to the airport via a secure, closed-loop train or something similar. So there's be multiple off-site locations to travel to, and then each site delivers passengers to/from the aiport. Imagine being able to check in at, say, the North Temple TRAX/Frontrunner station and then hop on a dedicated TRAX train to the airport itself.