The price tag on the new Salt Lake City International Airport has flown up by another half-billion dollars, and now stands at $4.1 billion.
The Airport Advisory Board discussed reasons behind that on Wednesday, as it also received an update on a new master plan that is looking at long-term needs even after the new airport is completed.
Officials said the increase comes largely from facilities that have been added or expanded to handle extra growth that occurred since the new airport was initially planned.
Such improvements are no surprise, and were discussed openly by the airport for more than a year as they were incorporated into designs. But their combined budget impact had not been talked about widely.
Bill Wyatt, executive director of the airport, said because of responsibility to bond holders on the project, it first discussed the increase with bond-rating companies in October before another regularly scheduled issuance of bonds for the project. The Airport Advisory Board was then told, and he said the City Council later approved the increases.
The higher costs will be covered by user fees paid by airlines and their passengers — not through local taxes — and include some facilities requested by the airlines.
The current, old airport was designed to handle about 10 million passengers a year, but now serves about 26 million annually. The new airport — with a new terminal, two concourses, garage and other facilities — is being built to the side of the existing facilities without interrupting operations. Its first phase is scheduled to open in September.
At groundbreaking, the first phase was expected to cost $1.8 billion. Other work was added for a second phase that is also now underway that includes a long-planned second concourse. That plus higher-than-expected labor and material costs had raised the overall price tag to $3.6 billion. The extra additions now bring it up to $4.1 billion.
Also, planners already are looking at long-term needs after the new airport is completed. Those include possibly lengthening one of its major runways to handle larger aircraft expected to fly nonstop to Asia; reworking alignment of taxiways and runways to prevent more delays as operations expand; and perhaps obtaining and preserving more land for another future runway.
“We’re pretty much concluding the work of the last master plan” by building the new airport, Wyatt said.
Steve Domino, senior planner for RS&H, the consultant working on the new master plan for the next 20 years, outlined some of the increases in demand expected in that time and the problems it may create.
For example, in 2017 the airport served 23 million passengers a year. That is now up to 26 million a year. In 20 years, that is expected to hit 38 million.
In 2017, the airport had 325,000 takeoffs and landings. In 20 years, that is expected to increase to 435,000, Domino said.
/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-sltrib.s3.amazonaws.com/public/RLG5SRI3FNDMXMLPE3PLFLLM7Y.jpg)
The share of passengers making connections at the airport are expected to increase from 39% to 47% as Delta is expected to increase its hub operations here.
Even with a new airport that is designed to handle far more passengers, “As demand increases, the potential for delay increases as well,” Domino said. He adds the master plan has tried to identify and address potential problems and bottle-necks.
It found one with current designs that often require aircraft to cut across active runways to reach other runways. With more takeoffs and landings, that may create delays.
But Domino said research shows that current runways are too short for the largest aircraft that officials likely would hope to use for such flights. The optimal length, he said, would be 14,500 feet long (2.75 miles) — which may require an extension of several thousand feet depending on which of the three current main runways may be expanded.
Also, the major runways now are not exactly parallel — meaning glide paths to or away from them sometimes intersect in ways such that operations on one runway can delay flights on another.
Domino said the master plan is looking at how, when and whether to realign those runways to make their operations more independent to avoid or reduce delays.
The airport is also looking at where the airport may want to buy or preserve land for future facilities. Domino said more may be needed to the north, south and west.
For example, while another runway may not be needed in the next 20 years, one seems likely to be needed in the distant future — and Domino said it may be wise for the airport to protect an area to the west of the airport for that.
“The airport will always be here,” he said. “We need to plan not only for the next 20 years, but beyond” including allowing that possible runway if needed. He added the airport wants to put off adding that extra runway as long as possible because of challenges it creates with wetlands in the area.
"salt" - Google News
January 16, 2020 at 05:48AM
https://ift.tt/3agSqdB
Price of new Salt Lake City International Airport grows another half billion to $4.1B - Salt Lake Tribune
"salt" - Google News
https://ift.tt/36cjMPq
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
0 Comments:
Post a Comment