Salt Lake City airport finally gets new tunnel that cuts down on the dreaded walk

If you've been to Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) since the coronavirus pandemic, odds are you've been impressed with its new terminal.

That's unless you're flying out of Concourse B, which is connected to the main Concourse A by a bit of a circuitous tunnel. After clearing security, you must first walk by many of the A gates before finally getting to the mid-concourse tunnel that takes you to the B gates.

In some cases, this long walk might even require backtracking, leading to scores of complaints from locals who find the new terminal layout far less convenient than before.

The good news is that this dreaded long walk — and much of the backtracking — will now be history. On Tuesday, the Salt Lake City Department of Airports took the wraps off of SLC's Central Tunnel, which is located right after clearing security in Concourse A.

With this tunnel, flyers can now go straight to Concourse B without passing by any gates in Concourse A.

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This new tunnel, which cuts the walk by up to a quarter of a mile, isn't just a mere convenience. It's also designed to be visually appealing with artwork by Gordon Huether, the man behind the airport's flagship "The Canyon" piece, lining the ceilings of the tunnel.

Huether's latest work, dubbed the "River Tunnel," features blue tinting that's designed to give travelers the sense of walking along a riverbed. This is complemented by a playlist of more than 100 songs that have been curated by Huether and feature lyrics related to travel or the state of Utah.

The new tunnel measures about 1,200 feet from end to end, the same length as the existing mid-concourse tunnel. (SLC also plans to install an automated train in the new tunnel, but the airport hasn't moved forward with that construction yet.)

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After leaving the new tunnel, travelers will see the central plaza of Concourse B, which now features the World Map floorwork that was created by Dallas stoneworker Julius Bartoli and installed in the airport's original Terminal 1 in 1960.

While the highlight of the third phase of expansion in Salt Lake City is undoubtedly the new Central Tunnel, travelers will also notice a few other upgrades available as of Tuesday. These include 12 new concessions and five gates for Delta Air Lines.

"With today's opening of Phase 3, we have reached an extraordinary milestone in The New SLC Redevelopment Program. We have built an airport that is convenient, inspiring, flexible, sustainable and provides our passengers with a first-class experience," Bill Wyatt, executive director of Salt Lake City Department of Airports, said in a statement.

Now that the third phase of the new SLC has opened, the airport can focus on the last remaining part of the project, which includes additional gates that will open in fall 2025 on the east end of Concourse B. Once the entire project is complete in 2026, the new SLC will offer 94 gates.

The airport's redevelopment program broke ground in July 2014, and the first phase of the new terminal opened in fall 2020. It took three more years to open the second phase, which included many more gates in Concourse A.

Salt Lake City will also be home to a new American Express Centurion Lounge that's slated to open in 2025.

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