SALT LAKE CITY -- Travelers through the Salt Lake City International Airport will see some big changes after the airport took a huge step toward its new terminal Tuesday.
Construction crews are in the thick of tearing apart the exit ramp on the west side of the parking garage. It closed down last fall in preparation for the demolition.
It’s the first big construction project to kick off the $1.8 million terminal redevelopment project, airport representatives said.
Drivers taking off from the terminals can see the construction, and hear the sounds of machinery cracking up concrete, digging and dumping dirt.
“It’s a really big milestone for the airport,” said Nancy Volmer, Public Relations and Marketing Director for the Salt Lake City International Airport. “We’ve been doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work up to this point. But now the public is going to start seeing some more changes, some more construction on site.”
After the ramp is nothing but a pile of dirt and concrete, she said crews will spend a couple months on utility work in that area, before re-routing all terminal lanes through that spot.
Then, will come more construction- four more years of it to be exact.
“People will start seeing more of the construction on the airfield, where the terminal will be built,” Volmer explained. “We’ll start seeing some more demolition of the former car rental facilities.”
Volmer suggested drivers give themselves a few extra minutes when picking up and dropping off passengers, and urged people to slow down in the construction area.
Phase one of the terminal redevelopment project should be complete in 2020, with phase two finishing in 2023.