Location Salt Lake City, UT
Client Salt Lake City Department of Airports
Services Estimating & Cost Management, Program Management
Project Value $5.1 billion
Hill is providing program management support services to help deliver the Airport Redevelopment Program (ARP) for Salt Lake City Department of Airports (SLCDA). More than 26 million passengers use Salt Lake City Airport annually, with more than 300 scheduled daily flights. The ARP is modernizing the airport to help accommodate expected growth by replacing 3 existing 50-year-old terminals and 5 concourses with a stunning new, 2 million SF terminal and 2 new concourses. The new terminal and concourses are supported by an additional 2 million SF of new support facilities, including a 5-level, 3,600-space parking garage, a 3,000-space economy parking lot, a central utility plant, a rental car quick turnaround and rental service site, and more than 60 acres of new airfield paving and utilities, as well as a pair of 1,000-foot-long tunnels. In total, the new development will span nearly 300 acres and replace 29 structures. The entire program is being delivered using the CM-at-Risk method and is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification.
The new terminal features highly efficient MEP systems, an evaporative cooling system that uses significantly less energy than a traditional climate control system, and the latest in sustainable finishes and fixtures. In addition, SLC will make ground service equipment for the terminal 100% electric. This will make SLC one of the first airports in the world to eliminate fossil fuels entirely from their ground operations.
Phase 1 of the program was completed on time and within budget in 2020. Phase 2 of the program opened to the public on October 31, 2023, and provided an additional 1 million SF of concourse space, including 22 gates and dozens of new shops and restaurants. Phase 3 comprised nine additional gates, a pedestrian tunnel, a mini-plaza, and multiple art installations. Five Phase 3 gates opened on October 22, 2024. Following Phase 4, the program’s last gates are expected to open in October 2026.
Hill’s team serves in a staff augmentation role for the program, with an emphasis on senior program management leadership. Our approach to delivering the ARP involves building a “Best-in-Class” Integrated Program Management Team and building and maintaining strong working relationships with SLCDA personnel. Specific services Hill provides include program controls, project controls, field engineering, QA/QC management, safety coordination, and document control. Hill staff have performed coordination and oversight for the central utility plant and MEP systems, passenger boarding bridges, concessions and rental car facilities, and fueling system. Our assigned staff members receive orientation prior to their SLCDA assignment. This introduces them to the procedures, preferences, and processes of the ARP.
THE COMPLETION OF PHASE 1 FACED SEVERAL CHALLENGES: AN AGGRESSIVE SCHEDULE CORRESPONDING TO A SHIFT FROM COST- TO SCHEDULE-DRVEN PRIORITIES, STAKEHOLDERS RANGING FROM AIRLINES TO LOCAL UTILITY PROVIDERS, A SHIFTING REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT, AND, OF COURSE, COVID-19 ALL THREATENED TO DELAY DELIVERY. HOWEVER, THANKS TO THE COMMITMENT OF SLC, A PROACTIVE MANAGEMENT APPROACH, EXPERIENCED LEADERSHIP, AND FORMAL AND INFORMAL COMMUNICATIONS PROCESSES AND PROTOCOLS, PHASE 1 FINISHED ON TIME AND WITHIN BUDGET.
