![]() ![]() In less than a year the Salt Lake City Department of Airports will open the first phase of the new Salt Lake International Airport. (Rick Egan | Tribune file photo) The new tower and concourse is pictured Monday, Sept. The new TRAX station at the airport is needed because Salt Lake City is spending $3.6 billion to essentially build an entirely new airport, with the first phase scheduled to open about a year from now. The plan envisions the bulk of the money for that new garage facility - $40.9 million - to be spent in 2020, with completion scheduled in 2022. It would replace some old garages and not only expand capacity but allow the agency to buy and maintain more electric and compressed natural gas buses - in addition to its standard diesel fleet. Part of that effort is the $48.6 million in the plan for ongoing construction of a new facility behind UTA’s headquarters in downtown Salt Lake City. UTA Board Chairman Carlton Christensen earlier this year told the bonding commission, “We're at the capacity of our current bus facilities … so if we add service - which we've made a commitment for, and are going through the process to determine that level - we actually need some facilities to house those buses.” Payment on that debt is UTA’s single largest expenditure each year, costing $119.6 million this year compared to the $102.1 million that UTA is spending on bus operations. That borrowing would be on top of the $2.1 billion in debt the agency has amassed essentially as a mortgage to accelerate building its TRAX and FrontRunner rail systems. The plan counts on using $70.9 million in money borrowed by issuing bonds - if the State Bonding Commission approves, a requirement recently imposed by the Legislature amid concern over UTA’s considerable debt.
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