According to officials, an outbreak of COVID-19 cases among construction workers may delay the first phase of the new $4.1 billion Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC).
“The greatest risk factor to opening on Sept. 15 is the health of our [construction] trade workforce,” airport Executive Director Bill Wyatt warned the Airport Advisory Board on July 15.
As reported by The Salt Lake Tribune, just before the July 4 holiday weekend, seven construction workers had either tested positive for the virus or were in quarantine after being in close contact with someone with the disease — which concerned managers.
“But all of a sudden we saw it jump from one week to the next and we had about 75”— a tenfold increase, said Mike Williams, the airport redevelopment program director.
With 75 workers out from a workforce of 1,600 to 1,800, Williams said roughly 5 percent of construction trades people at the airport were sidelined at a time when they are trying to rush toward the finish of the project.
With the big increase in the number of workers out, Williams said contractors and the airport management team began reinforcing social distancing, mask wearing and other protective rules. Workers arriving have their temperatures taken and are questioned about whether they show any symptoms or have been near people who have.
“Those numbers have trended back down already,” Williams told The Salt Lake Tribune. “We are in the low 50s now of folks who are either off-site or quarantined.” He said 20 to 25 are nearing the end of quarantine and are preparing to return.
Williams added that construction workers have been “extremely responsive” to protective steps against COVID-19. “They really, really want to be here,” he said. “They reacted just like we did [to the increase in cases] — that this is not a good thing, and it’s impacting what they want to be doing — their work.”
The coronavirus also is slowing delivery of some materials needed at the airport, with suppliers having problems either because their own workforces are depleted with COVID-19 or because supply chains have been disrupted. Williams said the biggest problem has been obtaining stainless steel and some light fixtures. He said airport officials even visited a stainless steel factory in Texas to work out ways to speed delivery.
“Some of that will be right down to the wire,” Williams said. “We’re hopeful that everything will look fine when we open. If we have to substitute some light fixtures, that’s what we’ll do.”
Otherwise, Wyatt said construction is on time and on budget. Many parts of new facilities are complete and some moving in will begin in a couple of weeks. The airport has extensive moving plans so that it can switch from old facilities overnight on Sept. 14 to using the adjacent new terminal and concourse on Sept. 15.