I was able to take a tour of the new terminal building. Here are some pictures:
This is inside the South Concourse, West Leg, looking west. It was taken at the top of the escalators that will take people down to the west tunnel to the North Concourse, so about 2/3 the way down the concourse. The roof is sloped to the north so that reflected glare does not blind pilots as they try to land. These two issues prevent the use of solar panels on the building itself, but the airport planners are looking into using some of their extra land as a solar farm in the near future. The end of the concourse is very close to the runway, and is already a fantastic place to watch airplanes take off and land.
The main hall, or 'Canyon,' or 'Crossroads of the West.' (All the airport managers who were present on the tour had a different name for it.) Eventually the escalators right under the American Flag will take people down to the central tunnel, where they will board a people mover to the North and Far North concourses.
The room didn't feel remarkably large to me. Obviously its much bigger than any space in the old airport terminals, but it isn't anything awe inspiring. Perhaps when all the art is installed it will have more of a grand feel to it - whereas now it just feels perfunctory.
The same hall, but now looking south toward the unsecured areas.
Baggage Carousels are already installed. There will be seven.
Speaking of baggage, the new underground conveyor system is pretty nifty. They didn't let me take pictures for security reasons. It is such a glorious, complicated spaghetti bowl I wished they could have let us ride on it. (When I was a boy scout in Idaho we visited the Idaho Falls Airport and they let us ride on the baggage conveyor into the airport, since there was only one belt. When we popped out onto the carousel we were greeted by some very confused European tourists on their way to Yellowstone, and the looks on their faces were priceless! But I digress...)
The conveyor belts eventually lead to the various baggage train loading bays, which are directly under the concourses. These bays were built without any room for ventilation because the airport is shifting to an all-electric fleet of baggage tractors. By not needing the extra height or mechanical ventilation equipment the airport was able to save many dozens of millions of dollars.
The welcome center, looking east. This is the structure attached to the north end of the new parking garage, and is connected to the main terminal via two skybridges. On the left will be a remote check-in area, separate from the main check-in area on the third floor. A branch of the baggage conveyor system will extend under the roads and take bags from the welcome center directly into the main terminal, where all the X-raying will be done.
On the right will be a bunch of rental car agencies, and on the far end of this hall is the original location for the future TRAX station, which has since been moved down to ground level by the baggage carousels.
Same location, but looking west. The frame laid against the window will contain the stained-glass window currently in the international terminal. The artist is still alive and will be responsible for the move.
The super-massive parking garage. This is the West Atrium (there are two). The trough on the floor will eventually house a moving sidewalk, so that the moment you get out of your car you won't have to take another step! This garage holds some sort of world record for largest garage with some qualifier that I forgot, but it really is massive. I wonder what percent of this entire project was spent on parking. It makes the complete exclusion (by law) of transit spending all the more jarring.
My thoughts are overall very positive. I trust that the new terminal will turn out to be just as awesome as everyone is promising it to be. I'm so positive that I would like to propose an idea:
Have the airport build a new passenger terminal at Salt Lake Central Station! Instead of that strange circle of parking that only the transit police use, build a nice train station building there, and have it be an extension of the airport authority. I can imagine all the check-in desks for various bus lines, and Amtrak, and then all the airlines too! Imagine getting off FrontRunner and checking in your bag at Salt Lake Central Station! Your bag would be taken to the airport via a secure van or something, while you would get to the airport via rail or express bus. Then, once you arrive at the airport, you would go straight to security and bypass all the other lines.
As the airport becomes more and more utilized and as demand grows, I think such a feature would be useful to alleviate crowding at the terminal itself. Just something to consider before the Olympics come knocking again.
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