Transportation in Salt Lake City consists of a wide network of roads, an extensive bus system, a light rail system, and a recently introduced commuter rail line. Although Salt Lake City is a traditionally car-oriented city (as are most other U.S. cities), the rapidly-growing public transit system has a high number of riders for a city of its size, and public transit is widely-supported by the populace.
All public transit in the city is operated by the Utah Transit Authority. In addition to operating the bus system, they also operate the TRAX light rail system, which contains two lines, one of which runs from downtown south to Sandy, and another of which runs east to the University of Utah. A commuter rail line, called FrontRunner, runs north to Ogden. It was recently completed and is also run by the UTA. The road system is also extensive, with 3 interstate highways and an additional state freeway. However, the geographical constrictions of the valley, as well as its rapid growth, has led to severe congestion problems.
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Two major interstate highways, Interstate 15 and Interstate 80, intersect just west of Downtown Salt Lake City. I-15 comes in from Davis County to the north and heads straight south through the Salt Lake Valley. I-80 comes in from the west and passes Salt Lake City International Airport before merging with I-15 west of Downtown. The merge continues for about 3 mi (5 km) before I-80 splits east again. It passes through largely residential areas through northern South Salt Lake and the Sugar House neighborhood of Salt Lake City before entering Parley's Canyon. Interstate 215, known as the belt route, forms a 270° loop around Salt Lake City and its first-ring suburbs. It enters the Rose Park neighborhood in northwestern Salt Lake City from Davis County and continues south, intersecting I-80 and State Route 201 before turning east in Taylorsville, intersecting I-15 in Murray, and turning north in Holladay. From there it parallels the Wasatch Range through the affleunt residential eastern suburbs before ending at I-80 at the mouth of Parley's Canyon. This "belt route" largely serves as a commuter route for the suburbs. State Route 201, known locally as the "21st South Freeway" or as "201", is a freeway that heads westward from the southern I-80/I-15 split, known as the "Spaghetti Bowl", along the border of Salt Lake City and West Valley City. This is a largely congested route that serves much of the west side commuter traffic. As it dips southward into Magna, it is downgraded to an expressway, although it is eventually planned to be upgraded to a freeway as traffic from Tooele County increases. It continues westward to I-80 near the Tooele County line. SR-201 serves as a commuter freeway for the westside of the valley and Tooele County, and also as an alternative to I-80 when needed. The 2002 Winter Olympics prompted a massive overhaul of I-15, from 600 North in Salt Lake City to 10600 South in Sandy. The interstate was expanded to 10 lanes, including 2 high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. Portions of I-80 and I-215 were also reconstructed.
Other major roadways through the valley include State Street, which is the portion of US-89 that shoots arrow-straight through the valley from Downtown Salt Lake City to Sandy, and Bangerter Highway (State Route 154), an expressway that begins at the airport and runs down the west side of the valley, serving the quickly-growing west and south sides of the valley. It curves east in Riverton and Bluffdale at the south end of the valley to connect with I-15 in Draper.
Plans exist for a freeway to run the west side of the Salt Lake Valley. It is known as the Mountain View Corridor and is part of the Legacy Highway project. This freeway is expected to be completed sometime between 2015 and 2020, with construction beginning as soon as 2008. Several routes have been proposed, but the most likely to be approved is the 5600 West alternative. This freeway will serve the fast-growing communities located along the west and south sides of the valley, and also in northern Utah County.
A light rail system, known as Transit Express,[1] but more commonly known as TRAX, had also been planned for years. In anticipation of the 2002 Winter Olympics, the system was approved in 1995. The first line began service on December 4, 1999[2] and currently links downtown with Sandy, and another line to the University of Utah was completed in 2001,[3] with an extension to the University of Utah Health Sciences Center in 2003.[4] The next TRAX line to be constructed will be the "Mid-Jordan" line, extending from Murray and into Midvale, West Jordan, and South Jordan.[5] The Mid-Jordan Line is expected to be completed by 2012. Other light rail lines contemplated include an extension from Sandy into Draper,[6] from Downtown to the airport,[7] and from South Salt Lake into West Valley City.[8] In the far future, light rail may also be extended into southern Davis County[9] and northern Utah County.
FrontRunner, a commuter rail system, was recently opened.[10] By 2020, it is expected to extend from Brigham City to Payson,[11] the approximate extents of the Wasatch Front. The first segment, between Salt Lake City and Pleasant View, just north of Ogden, began construction on August 10, 2005 and was opened on April 26, 2008.[12] FrontRunner was finally extended to Pleasant View on September 29, 2008.
UTA also runs the bus system in Salt Lake. The bus system reaches almost everywhere within Salt Lake City, and many points in the valley and beyond, serving the entire length of the Wasatch Front. Other services provided by UTA include a paratransit service, which has curbside pickup for disabled riders, express buses running between Salt Lake City and its major suburbs, and winter service to the ski resorts in the Wasatch Range.
Transit service (bus and light rail) is free within downtown Salt Lake City and the adjacent area up to the State Capitol, this area being referred to by UTA as its Free Fare Zone.[13]
City officials are currently studying the idea of building a modern streetcar line,[14][15] a lower-speed and lower-capacity type of rail system than the TRAX light rail, and similar to the Portland Streetcar and Seattle's South Lake Union Streetcar, both of which have been visited and studied by Salt Lake officials in connection with this proposal. The streetcar line would connect the Central Pointe TRAX station in South Salt Lake with the Sugar House business district, running along a two-mile section of 2300 South.[16] This developed from an earlier proposal for a heritage streetcar line. Preliminary engineering for the project has been completed, but options for funding are still being identified and discussed. The estimated cost is $40 million to $50 million, but officials predict that the line would generate much new property development in the areas through which it would run and would raise the value of existing development.[15] The city of Salt Lake is providing $2.5 million and has requested money from the federal government to have the line complete by 2012.[17]
Salt Lake City is serviced by the Salt Lake City International Airport and serves as a hub for Delta Air Lines and Delta Connection partner SkyWest Airlines.[18] The airport offers non-stop domestic and international flights to cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Tokyo, Vancouver, Calgary, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Cancun, and Paris.[19] A regional airport, known as South Valley Regional Airport, is located in West Jordan and serves as a general aviation and military helicopter training airport.
Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Salt Lake City, operating its California Zephyr daily in both directions between Chicago and Emeryville, California across the bay from San Francisco.
Three taxicab services exist in Salt Lake City: Ute Cab, City Cab, and Yellow Cab.[20] In 2004, a controversy sprung up between entrepreneurs wishing to enter the taxi market in the city, and the mayor's office, which has maintained tight restrictions on the taxi fleet. The controversy was fueled by Yellow Cab's advocacy of Mayor Rocky Anderson's re-election campaign by displaying the mayor's campaign ads wrapped around the company's taxis, and further by the decision by the mayor's campaign not to report this as a political in-kind contribution. Anderson drove a cab for Yellow while in college.
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