Construction Begins on Sandy Transit-Oriented Development

Government representatives, employees and other community figures broke ground Tuesday on the East Village, Utah’s first transit-oriented development venture.

The mixed use development got underway with groundbreaking of Phase I of the $42.6 million mixed use development, which includes a 271 unit apartment complex. It will have a density of 50 units per acre with a parking stall ratio of 1.4 stalls per unit. Four additional phases are planned, which will total over 1.4 million square feet of development.

The East Village, in Sandy, is intended to be a model for future development around transit stations that incorporate mixed-use development around major transit infrastructure. Utah Business

Do newfangled intersections ruin business?

Within a year after the new $5 million ThrU Turn was installed, the Common Cents gas station at 12300 South near I-15 in Draper closed. But next to the abandoned store, severe traffic congestion has largely disappeared, and the traffic flows much more quickly at the intersection with Minuteman Drive.

These developments sharply illustrate the arguments for and against what is turning out to be a controversial intersection design. UDOT says ThrU Turns are a great tool to speed traffic, but nearby businesses say it kills customer access. They have filled UDOT correspondence files with tales of struggle and worry.

Robert Miles, UDOT traffic operations engineer, said ThrU Turns were selected in Draper and Kearns because they could relieve congestion while avoiding removing businesses at the crowded intersections for widening and could avoid even more expensive options such as building bridges.

Moab‐Salt Lake bus route on hold

Last year Pocatello, Idaho-based shuttle service Salt Lake Express won a federal grant to provide twice-a-day shuttle service from Moab to Salt Lake City, with stops in Price and Blanding.

But the funding has been withdrawn because the company did not meet requirements outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), according to Kathy Pope, sales grant manager for Salt Lake Express.

Utah Department of Transportation spokesman Kevin Kitchen said it’s an unfortunate situation. Salt Lake Tribune

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Savage terminals in Price, Salt Lake City UT to begin handling 'crude by rail’

Savage announced April 29 that it is expanding service offerings at its terminals located in Price UT and Salt Lake City UT to include crude-by-rail transloading services, and associated car storage, on a manifest basis. These terminals will provide Uintah Basin crude, bound for key refinery markets, access to rail transportation.

The Savage terminal in Price is the first facility in the area to offer crude-by-rail origination services on the Union Pacific Railroad. Together with the Savage Bingham & Garfield in Salt Lake City, these terminals will have the capacity to transload 9,000 barrels per day. Bulk Transporter

Airport TRAX line adds transportation options to city's west side

Business was brisk early Sunday morning and moderate later in the day. Several people on the train said they had learned about the new service by word of mouth during their visits to the city.

Salt Lake County Councilman Arlyn Bradshaw was among the first passengers to take TRAX into the city Sunday morning. Not only is the airport line a boon for air travelers, "how great is this for the west side of Salt Lake City in terms of connectivity?" Bradshaw said. Deseret News

West Valley Breaks Ground on Residential Building

Crews have broken ground on the first new residential building located at Fairbourne Station in West Valley City, a mixed-use redevelopment at the city’s center. Construction of the residential building is the latest milestone in the city’s revitalization project.

The 225-unit apartment building will be constructed at 2900 West Lehman Avenue between The Promenade, a six-acre park that opened August 2012, and the new Embassy Suites hotel, which opened last January. It is also steps away from an intermodal transit station that offers light rail, bus rapid transit and traditional bus service.

The Residences at Fairbourne Station are being developed by ICO development, an Ivory Homes Company. Construction is expected to be complete in fall of 2014, and additional residences are planned for future development. Utah Business

Salt Lake City welcomes FrontRunner South

The length of Salt Lake City's commuter rail network almost doubled on February 22, when Utah Transit Authority (UTA) opened its FrontRunner South extension from Salt Lake Central to Provo.

Construction began in August 2008 on the 45 mile line, which parallels the existing Union Pacific freight line south of the city into Utah County, with six new park-and-ride stations.

With a maximum line speed of 79 miles per hour, the journey time between Salt Lake Central and Provo is around an hour and ridership is expected to reach around 8,000 passengers per day by 2015.

The project is part of UTA's Front Lines 2015 program, which will add 69 miles to Salt Lake City's 63 mile commuter rail and light rail network by 2015. International Railway Journal

Daily bus service coming to Southeast area

Twice daily bus service from the Wasatch Front to San Juan County will begin in April. Salt Lake Express Bus Service will offer transportation that initiates in Blanding and terminates at the Salt Lake International Airport.

The service will offer connections with Greyhound Bus Service in Green River and the Wasatch Front, in addition to links for Amtrak, airports, major hospitals and bus service into Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.

Pope said that a Utah Department of Transportation study identified two big gaps in bus service in Utah, including routes into southeast Utah and into Sanpete and Sevier counties. The company will open both routes in coming months.

Reservations are required to use the service and can be made online or by telephone. Pope said the company operates full-sized coaches on other routes but expects to operate 16-passenger vehicles to the area until ridership grows. San Juan Record

Draper TRAX Line testing to begin in February

The Utah Transit Authority in February will begin testing trains on its new Draper TRAX Line, a 3.8-mile extension of the UTA Sandy-Salt Lake (Blue) Line from its current terminal at 10000 South in Sandy to Pioneer Road (12400 South) in Draper.

The Draper TRAX extension is being built in the UTA-owned rail corridor and will feature new stations at 11400 South, 11800 South and Pioneer Road. Rail and ties from the old freight rail line have been removed, with grading and a new double-track construction along the entire length of the project.

The Federal Transit Administration by the end of January plans to visit and review the site to ensure compliance with federal standards. Testing is then expected to begin in mid-February until the line officially opens in August.

Initial testing takes approximately six weeks when trains will begin moving down the track at a slow pace. Once all systems are working and communicating, train speeds will begin to gradually increase.
The power lines south of 11000 South are scheduled to be energized sometime in February — the lines north of 11000 South have been energized since August. Signs will be posted to warn residents of the change.

Following the early testing, operators will be trained, additional FTA reviews conducted, and testing with train schedules at full speed will be completed in anticipation of the August opening. Deseret News

Utah gives Boeing incentives to open 787 tail piece factory

Aircraft maker Boeing Co. announced Friday it will expand manufacturing operations in Utah by opening a third factory in the Salt Lake City area to fabricate a tail piece for the Boeing 787.

Boeing is taking over a factory originally built by KraftMaid Cabinetry in the Salt Lake suburb of West Jordan.

Boeing has 575 employees in Utah and said it will add 100, paying factory wages that state officials said will average $65,000 a year.

Hiring will begin immediately for engineers and project managers, and Boeing will add production workers after converting the KraftMaid factory into a production facility for carbon-fiber aircraft parts, said Craig Trewet, director of Boeing Salt Lake.

Chicago-based Boeing assembles the 787 in Seattle and has had operations in Utah for 25 years.
It makes flight deck parts, has a paint shop and assembles the 787’s vertical tail fin at other locations near Salt Lake’s airport. In West Jordan, Boeing will make horizontal stabilizers for the aircraft’s tail.

“The site we’ve chosen is an ideal location to add composite manufacturing capability focused on Boeing’s key business strategies,” said Ross Bogue, vice president and general manager of Boeing Fabrication. “This new facility will provide a real competitive advantage in our supply chain.”
Boeing said it will take two years to redesign the 850,000-square-foot factory.

Gov. Gary Herbert joined company officials Friday for the announcement and has authorized tax incentives and other benefits for Boeing’s expansion.

The company will be entitled to a 20 percent rebate on payroll, income and sales taxes at the new location for a maximum incentive of $1.3 million over 10 years, said Michael Sullivan, a spokesman for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

In addition, Utah offered Boeing up to $225,000 in matching funds to train new manufacturing workers.

That makes it more likely that Boeing will hire Utah residents rather than bring in workers from other locations, Sullivan said. Standard Examiner

Crown Auto Holdings Closes Up Shop

Crown Auto Holdings, a publicly held Salt Lake City-based company whose shares were traded over-the-counter, said it dissolved its operations on Dec. 31, 2012 with the approval of its sole director and majority stockholder.

The company, in a statement announcing the move, said all of its assets and inventor were assigned to a Utah corporation owned by its director in consideration of an agreement that saw its majority shareholder agree to take on the liabilities of the business.

As of Nov. 30, Crown Auto’s liabilities exceeded its assets by approximately $208,000, the statement said.

Crown Auto’s business centered around the purchase of vehicles at auctions in Nevada and the transporting them to Utah for sale. The company focused its business on credit-challenged buyers who were unable to qualify for financing through traditional sources.

The company said it will ask the OTC Markets Inc. to delist the company’s shares. Salt Lake Tribune

Thermo King Poised to Move to Warner Truck Center in West Valley City

Thermo King Intermountain is poised to relocate to the Warner Truck Center, a move that will bring 55 jobs to this west-side community.

The company will get a little help in the move. The West Valley City Council, sitting as the Redevelopment Agency board, voted 7-0 earlier this week to give $125,000 to Thermo King to offset some of its costs.
The business — which services and sells parts for temperature control systems for truck bodies, trailers, buses, shipboard containers and rail cars — is now located at 1038 S. 300 West in Salt Lake City. Once all the details are finalized, Thermo King plans to build a $6 million, 35,000-square foot facility on 9½ acres at the center.

Warner Truck Center, which covers about 100 acres near 2100 South and 5600 West, is home to transportation-related businesses that sell, maintain, repair and customize heavy- and light-duty vehicles. Companies there include Warner Fleet Services and Warner Body & Paint, Freightliner, Wabash of Utah, Western Star of Utah, TruckPro Leasing & Finance, Utah Tank & Trailer, Sprinter Sales, N.E.W.S. (National Environmental Waste Systems), Cascadia Cafe, and Cummins Rocky Mountain.

Keith Morey, West Valley City business development manager, said the company’s presence will help "create a unique truck destination that will draw traffic to West Valley City from around the country."
Morey noted in a city report that Warner is using technology that allows it to monitor the status and repair needs of trucks as they travel around the country and notify them of potential problems before they surface.

In addition to jobs, Thermo King is expected to bring in $29,000 in property tax and $75,000 in sales tax annually to West Valley.

Thermo King’s moving costs are estimated at $150,000. The company will get $75,000 of the RDA money after a building permit has been issued and construction is underway. The rest of the money, $50,000, will be given the following year after a business license is issued and final occupancy granted. Salt Lake Tribune

Canyon Transportation Plans Gathering Momentum

Never has there been more momentum than now for finding solutions to transportation problems in Wasatch Front canyons, particularly Little Cottonwood and Big Cottonwood.

A chorus of disparate voices echoed that sentiment Wednesday as Salt Lake County formally released three canyon transportation studies produced locally during the past year. Those voices included Carl Fisher, executive director of the conservation group Save Our Canyons, and David DeSeelhorst, owner of Solitude Mountain Resort, individuals who don’t often share similar perspectives.

"Even though there’s a lot of diatribe in the media, we’re not really that far apart," DeSeelhorst said of their mutual hope that a transportation plan can be developed that would accommodate future growth while attempting to prevent environmental harm in the canyons.

"We’ve seen these political dialogues come and go, but I think this one has traction," he added. "The timing is now because there is so much information in the public domain and the politicians seem eager to deal with it."

Added Fisher, "With such broad-based buy-in from multiple jurisdictions with interests in the canyons, and everyone from environmentalists to ski resorts wanting this to happen, we can push each other to get things done. The risks of not doing anything are too great to not do something." Salt Lake Tribune

New Dining Options at Salt Lake City International Airport

The Salt Lake City International Airport is offering 13 new dining options.

The eateries were showcased during ceremonies on Thursday at the airport.

The dining venues are Salt Lake City Pizza & Pasta, High West Distillery & Saloon, Café Rio Mexican Grill, Mill Creek Coffee Roasters, Vivace by Cucina Toscana, Greek Souvlaki, Market Street Grill, Auntie Anne’s, Smashburger, Great Wraps, Fresh Market On The Go, French Meadow Bakery & Café and Starbucks.

Last year, airport officials also showcased businesses as part of the first overhaul of eateries and shops in half a century. The Salt Lake airport makeover began in August 2011.

The businesses are under the management of HMSHost, one of seven umbrella vendors operating the airport’s concession areas. HMSHost is a part of Italy-based Autogrill Group, a provider of food and retail services that manages 5,300 stores in more than 1,200 locations, including the 20 busiest airports in North America. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah-based Trucking Company Can't Find Enough Drivers

Even amid a struggling economy with high unemployment, trucking companies had a tough time hiring young drivers willing to hit the road for long hauls. Now the U.S. is speeding toward a critical shortage of truck drivers in the next few years as the economy recovers and demand for goods increases, an expert in the inner-workings of supply chains said in a report Tuesday.

U.S. companies are expected to create more than 115,000 truck driver jobs per year through 2016, but the number of Americans getting trained to fill those jobs each year is barely 10 percent of the total demand, said Page Siplon, executive director of the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics.

Siplon looked at a range of supply-chain jobs —from truck drivers and warehouse workers to air cargo supervisors — using career-specific employment forecasts by the U.S. Department of Labor and then comparing those numbers with Education Department statistics showing how many degrees and certifications for those jobs are being earned each year.

The results found truck drivers will account for 43 percent of expected growth in logistics jobs, but those will also be the positions with the fewest workers trained to fill them.

That doesn’t surprise Tom Pronk, vice president of recruiting for C.R. England, a Salt Lake City, Utah-based company that employs 7,500 truck drivers who deliver foods from companies such as Hershey, Nestle, ConAgra and Coca-Cola to retailers.

“We have an endless need basically in the industry,” Pronk said. “Everybody I talk to is very thirsty for drivers. My personal opinion is it’s only going to get worse before it gets better.”

Truck drivers make decent money. The Department of Labor says the median yearly wage for tractor-trailer drivers is $37,770, with some drivers earning more than $57,000. Handte and Pronk both said some drivers can clear $100,000 a year.

Both men said older drivers are feeling pressured to retire by federal safety regulations enacted in 2010 that keep a closer watch on drivers’ work hours, drug testing any tickets and traffic citations they get on the job. And the job can be hard to sell to younger workers who don’t think it’s worth the money to spend days and weeks on the road away from their families.

Truck drivers don’t need college degrees but they do need to earn a commercial driver’s license. That can take a month or longer of taking classes that cost $3,000 or more.

Trucking companies are trying different approaches to lure young drivers into their rigs. Some offer higher wages — a few extra cents per mile —or work with their drivers to carve our shorter routes designed to get them home sooner. C.R. England, which operates five driver training schools in the U.S., is refunding tuition to graduates after they work six months for the company.

David Sheehy of Greely, Colo., just graduated from the company’s school in Salt Lake City. He’ll be paired with an experienced driver for the next month, perhaps longer, before hitting the road on his own.

Sheehy, 32, said economic hardships in his hometown pushed him toward trucking after years of bouncing between different jobs with little stability. He drove a tow truck, worked for a car rental company and even was an umpire calling little league and high school baseball games. He’s single and excited about seeing new parts of the country. And he’s eager to earn steady pay. Stand Examiner

Global Flights Growing at Salt Lake City International Airport

Utah's largest city has been making significant progress regarding the amount of international air travel it has facilitated over the past few years.

That increase could mean even more economic growth if it continues, according to a new study by a Washington think tank.

The report is the first study of its kind to track the flow of passengers between U.S. metro areas and points abroad. The study ranked the 100 largest metro areas for the number of passengers traveling to and from international destinations through their airports. It also evaluated the most popular international metro areas based on passengers traveling to and from the U.S., as well as the most trafficked corridors between U.S. and international metro areas.

Since 2003, Salt Lake City saw its volume of international passengers jump 32.1 percent, while its ranking for passenger travel climbed from No. 30 to No. 27.

Between 1990 and 2011, international passengers increased by 117 percent compared with a 53 percent growth in the number of domestic passengers, the report stated.

Nearly all U.S.-based international passengers start or end their journeys in the airports of the nation's 100 largest metro areas, led by New York with 21.6 percent of all international passengers in 2011.

The growth in international air passenger levels shows how much U.S. metropolitan economies interact with their international peers, reinforcing vital business and tourism relationships, said Adie Tomer, study co-author and senior research associate. Deseret News

UTA changes include some surprises

The Utah Transit Authority unveiled some surprises Wednesday as it finalized schedule changes that take effect on Dec. 9 — including reducing weekend TRAX service because of budget constraints, and shortening how far the TRAX green line will run from West Valley City every day.

Also, FrontRunner riders who travel in the opposite direction than most peak-time commuters soon will find less-frequent service. And one FrontRunner train a day is being restored to the Pleasant View station north of Ogden, service that had been totally cut recently.

UTA projects overall revenue next year to increase by 5 percent — from $290.8 million to $305.6 million
— thanks to greater fare, sales tax and federal grant revenue.

Even amid rail expansions, UTA said budget constraints are forcing it to cut back weekend TRAX service beginning Dec. 9. Saturday TRAX service will begin about an hour later at about 6 a.m. Sunday TRAX service will have an earlier end time, with last trips of the day departing between 8 and 9 p.m.

The new FrontRunner service between Salt Lake City and Provo will end express buses from Utah County to Salt Lake City, and replace it with more local service in Utah County, often designed to connect to FrontRunner. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah County FrontRunner, airport TRAX lines still on track

Commuters heading to Salt Lake City from Utah County may have an alternative form of transportation sooner than expected.

Construction and testing on the FrontRunner South commuter rail line is moving ahead faster than anticipated, according to the Utah Transit Authority.

It promises commuters they will save time when the new FrontRunner South line opens Dec. 10. The agency projects approximately 6,800 passengers will ride the train each day. In addition to four stops in Utah County, FrontRunner South will also have stops in South Jordan and Murray.

According UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter, who said the FrontRunner South line is expected to begin transporting passengers beginning Dec. 10. He added that the project is also under budget thus far.

He said this phase allows the agency to ensure that all track signals are working properly, operators are fully trained and schedules are appropriately aligned. Test trains run at maximum speeds of up to 79 miles per hour, he said, the same top speed allowed when service begins.

As for the Airport TRAX line, the $350 million extension is scheduled to be operational by April 2013.

Under construction since January 2009, the new light rail line is one of five rail projects UTA has had on its construction agenda in the past few years. The others include the $535 million Mid-Jordan TRAX extension and the $370 million West Valley TRAX line — which both began operation in August 2011. Also in the works are the $212 million Draper TRAX extension and the aforementioned $850 million FrontRunner South commuter-rail line that will run from downtown Salt Lake City to Provo. Deseret News

Bangerter Highway Expansion Improves Mobility in Western Salt Lake Valley

Southwest of Salt Lake City, the communities of Kearns, Taylorsville, West and South Jordan are home to around 250,000 people, making it a major population center in the Salt Lake Valley. The communities are also gateways to expected development farther west in Herriman and Eagle Mountain.

Other than growth, the thing these communities have in common is a heavy reliance on the Bangerter Highway. The roughly 25-mile-long, north-south road runs parallel to Interstate 15 to the east and stretches from Salt Lake International Airport on the north end to an intersection with I-15 on the south.

Adan Carrillo, a community relations spokesman for the Utah Dept. of Transportation, says studies on improving traffic flow on the highway had been under way since 2005.

Draper, Utah-based Ralph L. Wadsworth design-builders was awarded the $49-million contract and began work in early 2011. Work on the CFIs at 6200 and 7000 South was carried out almost simultaneously and was nearly complete before crews began moving earth and preparing to build the grade-separated structure at 7800 South.

Currently, contractors are placing new utility lines. Four new traffic signals will be installed as well as new warning lights at the fire station located along the road. Sidewalks will be widened and a sound barrier wall erected along the south side. The widening project is expected to be completed this fall. ENR Mountainstates

Labor leader speaks out about road construction projects

The state's largest labor union is both praising and criticizing two of Utah's biggest highway construction projects.

The AFL-CIO was complimentary toward the workers and contractors hired for the I-15 corridor expansion project in Utah County but was much less flattering about the work done on state Route 92 near American Fork Canyon.

In choosing contractors, UDOT spokesman Nile Easton said UDOT uses two methods — one called "best value," in which the overall bid is made based on finite budget amount and time constraints. The other is "low bid," in which the major consideration is budgetary.

Easton noted that in the case of both the I-15 CORE and state Route 92 projects, each contractor was selected using the "best value" method. Deseret News