The New SLC

If you’ve been at the SLC International Airport recently, you’ve probably seen a lot of construction underway west of the airport.

The SLC Airport is three years into construction of the Airport Redevelopment Program, which will result in a completely new airport by 2024.

SLC is overdue for a new airport. The original terminal was built 50 years ago for 10 million passengers and was not built to be a hub operation. Today, SLC sees more than 23 million passengers each year and is a hub for Delta Air Lines. The new airport design will address seismic issues. In addition, all gates will have jet bridges and will be able to accommodate larger body planes.

The New SLC is being completed in two phases. The first phase, scheduled to be finished in the fall of 2020, will include a new Parking Garage — with twice the capacity as the current parking garage — a new Terminal, Central Utility Plant and the west portions of two new concourses.

The second phase—expected to be finished in 2023/24—will begin with demolition of the existing parking garage, terminals and eventually all concourses. This will allow construction to begin on the east portions of the new concourses.

The new airport will be easier to for passengers to navigate and the design will eliminate airplane bottlenecks on the airfield, allowing airplanes to turn around and get back in the air more quickly. That means a more efficient and effective airport.

The cost of the new airport is approximately $3.1 billion. The airport will be funded by 2017 and future bonds, Passenger Facility Charges, Federal Grants, Rental Car Facility Charges, and Airport Cash. Note that no local tax dollars will be used for the project.

More information on the Airport Redevelopment Program can be found here on our website.