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Team coverageIt's official: Construction is set to begin on a new TRAX line that will take riders to the Salt Lake International Airport. Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and Utah Transit Authority (UTA) officials signed the paperwork this morning.
This agreement has been a long time coming. It seems like we've been discussing the possibility of TRAX going to the airport for years. And now the details are finally being worked out, and travelers are really going to benefit.
Mike Allegra, assistant general manager for UTA, says, "This is the No. 1 line that everybody, when we've polled, has been interested in having. So we expect it to be wonderfully successful. We're very pleased that the line will actually get to the airport terminal. It will take patrons right to the terminal. You can walk off the train and get into the terminal."
Construction will begin on the new line this fall, but we won't be riding it for at least three years. Once it's completed, officials estimate as many as 10,000 people a day will take it for the trip to the airport.
This agreement initiates the design and construction of the line. It calls for UTA to build the extension in exchange for Salt Lake City granting it the use of city streets and property. The extension is a $300 million project. Salt Lake City will pay UTA up to $35 million for the project.
The proposed stations along North Temple would be at 800 West, Utah State Fairgrounds, Cornell Street, Winifred Street and Terminal One at Salt Lake International Airport.
Becker says North Temple will look completely different with several bike lanes, the light rail and more traffic accommodations. "We will be recreating North Temple into a grand boulevard. It will be a completely new street," he said.
Mostly he's excited for the economic benefits. Becker says, "It will be, I think, a real boon in terms of economic development opportunities, both commercial and residential, and otherwise along North Temple through the west side of Salt Lake City."
For travelers going to pick up cars and cabs at the airport, the news was exciting. Traveler Eric Lewis said, "I think it would help reduce pollution and if it were around my house it would be quite convenient."
Some out-of-towners, who already have similar systems in their hometowns, gave the plan their approval. Dominik Zingg said, "In Switzerland, when I come home, I'm going to get home by train."
"It's much easier to take the train than take a car," he added. "If I take the car to go to the airport, I find a parking lot, then I have to walk back to the airport. So I'm faster with the train."
This airport line is a part of UTA's FrontLines 2015 projects, which include TRAX lines going to Draper, Jordan, West Valley and a FrontRunner train to Provo.
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