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SALT LAKE CITY — The $1.8 billion construction project at Salt Lake International Airport has been under way for months.
But only now are passengers starting to feel the effects of the tricky job of keeping an airport operational with ongoing contruction.
“We have a big challenge, in that we are trying to construct a new airport on top of an active working airport. So that is inherently difficult,” airport spokesperson Barbara Gann said.
Other than more construction trucks rumbling through the area, passengers had their first taste of inconvenience over the last month or so: Trouble finding their vehicles in the long-term parking lot.
We have a big challenge, in that we are trying to construct a new airport on top of an active working airport. So that is inherently difficult.
–Barbara Gann, airport spokesperson
A construction staging area has been set up in areas of the old long term lot as workers prepare to build what will become the new rental car center. The staging area has prompted the re-numbering of lot row numbers and shuttle stops.
The airport says it posted notice, but many, many passengers were caught off guard.
Utahn Brian Kirk returned from a business trip to Los Angeles Friday, and ended up roaming around for a time, unable to find his car.
“I’m having a little bit of trouble,” Kirk said, slightly annoyed but good naturedly. “They’ve changed up all the numbers for all the parking down here. Every time you come back it’s a little bit different. It is kind of frustrating,“ Kirk admitted.
Signs are constantly being posted and updated, letting people know what’s changing at the airport, Gann says. The project is expected to take up to eight years to complete, and it’s unknown what the full construction impacts will be on travelers.
The next notable impact will be a change to the entrance to the long-term parking lot in early December. Signs will direct people where to go. A popular pedestrian walkway between the parking lot and the terminal will also close around that same time.
Changes will come gradually over the coming years as a completely new terminal, rental car center and parking lot are built to accommodate the 20 million passengers who come and go through a terminal meant to accommodate 10 million people.
“I think it’s a little disorienting, but we’re saying to people, 'It’s not hard, it’s just different,' ” Gann said.
