After more than three years of work, the Salt Lake City International Airport celebrated the opening of a new shortcut to concourse B with the help of a 150 million-year-old guest.
The 900-foot-long “River Tunnel” opened on Tuesday, saving travelers a half-mile of walking, and adding a twinkling blue art installation set to water-themed songs. The new tunnel cuts the two-thirds of a mile trip between the airport’s concourses in half, and hastens the journey with three moving walkways in each direction.
The airport’s mid-concourse tunnel only has two moving walkways in each direction, and when they’re used, the journey from concourse A to the farthest B gates takes passengers at least 13 minutes. The new central tunnel brings that travel time down to under six minutes, according to the airport website.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Passengers walk in and out of a new central tunnel at Salt Lake City International Airport, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.
The gates right outside of the River Tunnel are now home to Southwest Airlines, the airport’s second-largest carrier behind Delta, Bill Wyatt, the airport’s executive director, said.
“People certainly got their steps in and enjoyed the great amenities this new airport has to offer,” said Steve Sisneros, vice president of airport affairs at Southwest Airlines. “We finally get to cut that walk in half, and that’s something that we can all cheer about. While we won’t get the steps in, we’ll be able to have a quicker commute from our curb, and our customers are so happy to get to the B gates and fly.”
Near the front of the new tunnel now stands Utah’s state fossil: an allosaurus.
The 30-foot-long dinosaur is a replica of a fossil excavated a century ago at Vernal’s Dinosaur National Monument, said Jason Cryan, executive director of the Natural History Museum of Utah. The state’s museum is home to the world’s “most significant collection” of allosaurus fossils, he continued.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) A replica of an allosaurus is unveiled outside a new concourse B plaza at Salt Lake City International Airport, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.
In addition to “Ally the Airport Allosaurus,” airport officials also unveiled “Northern Light,” a multicolored glass sculpture hanging above concourse B’s main plaza, behind the relocated world map. The sculpture was created by Gordon Huether, the artist behind the River Tunnel and other prominent art in and around the airport.
“What all of these installations have in common is that all of it is about celebrating the natural beauty of Utah,” Huether said, “and there is no doubt of where you are when you come into this airport.”
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) An art installation by Gordon Huether is unveiled at the new concourse B plaza at Salt Lake City International Airport, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.
The new tunnel will not only aid in the walk to concourse B, but will also provide space for more concourse access down the line. The tunnel has a cell on each side that will eventually host a tram to connect travelers with a future concourse that could be built as soon as 2030.
“Because of our tenacity and our values that guide the direction of this airport creation and the way we’re growing as a people, we’re going to make it,” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said, “and we’re going to keep welcoming the world.”
