Students could be riding to and from the Salt Lake City International Airport for free by 2015.
The Utah Transit Authority broke ground on a six-mile light rail Wednesday morning.
The line’s official deadline is 2015, but UTA spokeswoman Carrie Bohnsack-Ware said so far all of the light rail additions are ahead of schedule and she expects the airport construction will finish 12 to 18 months early.
The airport addition is the fourth rail system in the $2.8 billion five-line project. The mid-Jordan line, the West Valley line and Frontrunner South are under construction. UTA will begin construction next year on the final eight-and-a-half mile line to Draper.
The airport line will add five westward stations to the city and Sandy lines. The number of stops concerned Dallin Roberts, a freshman in mathematics, because he thinks the added time might not be worth the trip. “If it saves time, it’s a good idea,” Roberts said.
Bohnsack-Ware said UTA is not sure if the light rail will replace slower bus lines. She said she expects the ease and speed of the line will attract 10,000 to 14,000 people on an average weekday. “There’s not a whole lot of service (to the airport) right now,” Bohnsack-Ware said about Route 236, which travels to and from 3600 South and 2700 West to the airport 17 times per weekday. “It just depends if there is enough people to sustain the bus service. We’ll look at that in a couple of years to a year before (the light rail line) opens.”
Harrison Jones, a freshman in chemistry, said he drives his dad, a pilot, to the airport on a regular basis and the new TRAX line would be a big help. “(My dad) doesn’t like to leave his car out there,” Jones said. “If I needed to go out to the airport, I definitely would use it. I’ve already been out there this semester. I’ve had to pick up a friend who didn’t have a way back (to the city).”
Chase Kirkham, a senior in English, said he thinks the line will be a benefit to Salt Lake residents, but the service for others will be limited. “I live up north and it will be quicker by car,” he said. “If I were down here in Salt Lake, I would use it.”
Kirkham also said he might take the extra time to ride the light rail given that the fare is free for U students.
Twenty percent of the $2.8 billion that will be used for all five TRAX expansion projects comes from federal funds. UTA generated the remaining 80 percent from extra sales tax revenue agreed upon by voters in some counties that receive UTA service.