West Valley Central station


West Valley Central station is a light rail station in West Valley City, Utah served by the Green Line of the Utah Transit Authority's TRAX light rail system. The Green Line provides service from the Salt [Lake City International Airport] to this station.

Description

The TRAX portion of the station is located at 2750 West Lehman Avenue with the two side platforms being situated immediately south of and parallel to that street. The MAX stop at the station is at 2820 West Lehman Avenue with the rest of the bus stops at 2860 West 3650 South. The free Park and Ride lot, which has 80 spaces, is at 2842 Lehman Avenue and is accessible from 3500 South by heading south on Market Street. The station is in the middle of the partially completed Fairbourne Station development, which includes several West Valley municipal buildings. Further east of the station is the Valley Fair Mall, with a residential neighborhood to the south. The entire intermodal hub is operated by the Utah Transit Authority.

History

Construction on the West Valley Intermodal Hub began in 2007 and was completed in 2009 at a cost of approximately $9 million. More than $7 million of that was paid for by the federal government, with the rest being paid for by local taxes. When the hub opened on September 17, 2009, it immediately had service by five local bus routes, in addition to the 3500 South MAX. At the time of its opening, the hub was more of a bus depot than an intermodal hub, as construction was not yet complete on the light rail line. However, it was anticipated that light rail would serve the station in the near future and it was referred to as the West Valley Intermodal Hub anyway. The station opened with bus service only on September 17, 2009. The TRAX portion opened for service on August 7, 2011, as part of the West Valley extension of the Green Line.
Initially the Green Line connected to the Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub in Downtown [Salt Lake City]. On December 9, 2012, Green Line service ended at Arena in preparation for the opening of the airport extension of the Green Line. The Airport extension opened on April 14, 2013, and service now continues on from Arena to Airport at the Salt Lake City International Airport.

Fairbourne Station

Fairbourne Station is a $500 million transit-oriented commercial development that was planned specifically in conjunction with the construction of the West Valley Intermodal Hub. With the hub at its center, sections of the development are eventually planned for areas to the west, north, and east covering the blocks between West 3500 South, South 2700 West, West 3650 South, and about 3000 West. It is anchored by the West Valley City civic center. The development will add of restaurant and retail space to complement the existing of space in the nearby Valley Fair Mall. The new Embassy Suites Hotel was completed in July 2012, which includes 162 suites and of meeting rooms. When the development is complete there will be 1,000 high-density residences, and of office space, 2,200 parking spaces, and of urban park/plaza space.