The stop is a joint effort between the agency and the city, which has been hoping for a station since the South Towne Exposition Center opened in December 2000. City and UTA officials on Friday said the station would be a destination point as opposed to a commuter stop.
The main attractions for the TRAX stop, which will have no dedicated parking, will be Jordan Commons, the Expo and a planned professional soccer stadium clustered around State Street and 9400 South.
"It will be [for] people going to a movie, having dinner or attending an event at the Expo Center or one day, soccer games," said UTA spokesman Justin Jones.
The stop also would allow Salt Lake County to connect the expo center and the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, allowing ever-larger conven- tions.
"You're essentially tying the floor space together," said Jeffery Harris, UTA's deputy chief for asset management and business development.
Because the station wasn't planned for in UTA's original design, the tracks would have to be ripped up if it were to be two-sided like the rest of the north-south line, Jones said. Instead, it will be one-sided like the University line's stadium and medical center stops.
Nick Duerksen, Sandy's assistant director of community development, said Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan worked with Rep. Jim Matheson, Utah's Democratic 2nd District congressman, to secure about $2 million in federal funding for the station and a $70,000 pedestrian crosswalk across 9400 South, which has four traffic lanes and one median lane.
City and UTA officials are still negotiating over the crossing. Sandy favors a crossing that would run parallel to the light-rail line linking the eastern corner of the expo center to Jordan Commons. UTA officials are concerned about cars stopping on the tracks to wait for pedestrians.
Duerksen said the city worries about mass numbers of people jaywalking across a busy street, which happened when the expo center first opened.
Real Salt Lake could attract even more rides to the station. The expansion franchise is planning to build a 25,000-seat stadium on the west side of State Street at 9400 South.
