Supercharger - St George, UT

[Phlier]

Does anyone else that typically uses the St. George supercharger feel that this one is misplaced compared to most other supercharger locations? It seems crazy that you have to take a 10-15 minute detour (20-30 minutes round trip) and leave I-15 each time to supercharge there. All the other Superchargers I’ve used, from Seattle to Las Vegas, are so conveniently placed right off the freeway. Does anyone know the process to officially press the location issue with Tesla?

I live in the area and will admit that the Supercharger site is not as convenient as in many locations. Still, if you get off at the exit for St. George Boulevard and take Red Hills Parkway to the plaza, it is fairly quick and free of congestion. Other Superchargers that I have used are also some distance from the highway (Page, Tremonton, Green River, Moab, Grand Junction). I would imagine that Tesla had problems convincing the businesses by the 4 major exits in St. George to let them install the Superchargers on their property, since these were among the first installed in the network cross-country, before it was clear that EVs were the future, inevitable, and could attract customers. Starbucks in Sunset Plaza was probably the closest they could get to the freeway at the time. Perhaps, as demand grows, they'll now be able to contract for another site closer to I-15…? Hope so! Soon they'll need more Superchargers along that corridor.

I'm also a St. George local, and completely agree with both of these posters. Yes, the supercharger is inconveniently located, but if you use the route from Interstate 15 to the supercharger as described by @Yanquetino it really takes the sting out of it.

Going down St. George Blvd is an exercise in patience, frustration, or both. Red Hills Parkway is meant to be a high speed alternative to St. George Blvd, and should always be used instead of "The Boulevard." It's two lanes both directions, limited number of traffic lights, and a high speed limit. Not to mention the view is amazing.

You will easily cut your time from I-15 to the supercharger in half by taking Red Hills Parkway to the supercharger instead of St. George Boulevard.

 

[PLUS EV]

Does anyone else that typically uses the St. George supercharger feel that this one is misplaced compared to most other supercharger locations? It seems crazy that you have to take a 10-15 minute detour (20-30 minutes round trip) and leave I-15 each time to supercharge there. All the other Superchargers I’ve used, from Seattle to Las Vegas, are so conveniently placed right off the freeway. Does anyone know the process to officially press the location issue with Tesla?

It's unusual but not unheard of. Santa Clarita is another one that is far off the freeway. I also think your diversion estimates are a little inflated

 

[PLUS EV]

I live in the area and will admit that the Supercharger site is not as convenient as in many locations. Still, if you get off at the exit for St. George Boulevard and take Red Hills Parkway to the plaza, it is fairly quick and free of congestion. Other Superchargers that I have used are also some distance from the highway (Page, Tremonton, Green River, Moab, Grand Junction). I would imagine that Tesla had problems convincing the businesses by the 4 major exits in St. George to let them install the Superchargers on their property, since these were among the first installed in the network cross-country, before it was clear that EVs were the future, inevitable, and could attract customers. Starbucks in Sunset Plaza was probably the closest they could get to the freeway at the time. Perhaps, as demand grows, they'll now be able to contract for another site closer to I-15…? Hope so! Soon they'll need more Superchargers along that corridor.

Tremonton and Green River aren't unusually off the freeway. Maybe blame the freeway design through Green River? Page and Moab don't have major highways running through them so...? Grand Junction is like 1.5 miles off of I-70 and on the Business route I-70 so not that bad.

 

[BM3B]

One of the most inconvenient SCers on my 5,300 road trip this summer was the original Albert Lee, MN charger. If you were heading N or S on 35 you had to detour for like 15-20 min each way! At least they fixed that problem with the new SCer they added this summer (a week after I got back home f course).

 

[PLUS EV]

One of the most inconvenient SCers on my 5,300 road trip this summer was the original Albert Lee, MN charger. If you were heading N or S on 35 you had to detour for like 15-20 min each way! At least they fixed that problem with the new SCer they added this summer (a week after I got back home f course).

That location did suck but this seems like an exaggeration! Unless you are talking about during the construction they had going when I was there in June.
The current location is way better but isn’t as convenient for I-90 travelers.

 

[BM3B]

That location did suck but this seems like an exaggeration! Unless you are talking about during the construction they had going when I was there in June.
The current location is way better but isn’t as convenient for I-90 travelers.

It did take me 15-20 min each way to and from 35. There was some traffic around 5pm.

 

[Tony8489]

This SC is seriously degraded today. It was full. I was third in line and waited 25 minutes to plug in, longest wait I’ve ever had.

1A and 3A are broken. 3B and 1B get 97-98kW because they are unpaired. I ramped up to 88kW but fell back to 49kW when a Model 3 paired with me and he’s only getting 51kW.

So the charger running at 2/3 what it should is the reason for the long wait.

 

[Stellos]

This SC is seriously degraded today. It was full. I was third in line and waited 25 minutes to plug in, longest wait I’ve ever had.

1A and 3A are broken. 3B and 1B get 97-98kW because they are unpaired. I ramped up to 88kW but fell back to 49kW when a Model 3 paired with me and he’s only getting 51kW.

So the charger running at 2/3 what it should is the reason for the long wait.

I haven’t read the full discussion thread and I don’t come here often, so I don’t know if this is new news, but there is a “mobile megapack charger” (urban chargers with battery packs on a truck trailer) here. Also the problems 1A and 3A seem to be fixed.

I charged on 3B and saw people successfully charging on 1A and 3A

 

[Yanquetino]

I swung by there today to see what was going on. There were only a couple of Teslas charging:

As reported above, there was a semi flat-bed around the corner of the lot. It had four 70 kW "urban" Superchargers on the back, and several cabinets with (I assume) transformers on the front:

At the far end of the Superchargers there was a couple under a canopy. They told me that they were from Arizona, and were there to help drivers connect and charge in case a line formed because of slower or disabled units. They weren't sure if the construction crew that parked the semi flat-bed there were repairing or replacing faulty transformers. I did note that the doors to the enclosure for the transformers were open. I might be wrong, but perhaps they are intending to replace them, or have already replaced them, which is why there are "urban" chargers there to accommodate drivers while they work…?

I usually stop by the Superchargers weekly anyway, because I have volunteered to pick up any trash left at the site. Yes, there was a lot of litter this week, so I gathered it and tossed it in the garbage bin for the adjacent business. I confess that it really discourages me to find that there are Tesla owners in this world who will just toss out their crap at the Superchargers. So much for the better world we are supposed to be building.

 

[ThisIsTrue]

I confess that it really discourages me to find that there are Tesla owners in this world who will just toss out their crap at the Superchargers. So much for the better world we are supposed to be building.

While I'm sure that there are jerks who are Tesla owners, don't make the mistake of assuming that any particular trash around a supercharger was left there by Tesla owners. Open-access sites are open to all, including those who have irrational fears of electric cars and the people who drive them. (Think back to the terrible vandalism of these very chargers not all that long ago.)

 

[Phlier]

While I'm sure that there are jerks who are Tesla owners, don't make the mistake of assuming that any particular trash around a supercharger was left there by Tesla owners. Open-access sites are open to all, including those who have irrational fears of electric cars and the people who drive them. (Think back to the terrible vandalism of these very chargers not all that long ago.)

Agreed.

And the St. George Supercharger is located in a strip mall that has a pretty large number of other businesses in it, including fast food.

For some reason, the St. George Supercharger has also been the target of numerous vandal attacks, too. Many of these have left charging stalls inoperable.

If anyone should happen to arrive in St. George and are unable to charge at the supercharger due to the equipment being out of service, send me a PM here on the forum. I'll hook you up to my Wall Connector. Sure, you won't get supercharger speed, but it's better than being stranded.

 

[emiliorescigno]

Looks like a temporary pallet of urban chargers have been added. Maybe for Memorial Day weekend travel season?

 

[WSE51]

Is this in back of the Starbucks? Adding two more charging stations to the 8 that are already there?

 

[emiliorescigno]

Yup this is in the corner behind Starbucks. There are 8 V2s + this pallet, which appears to have three urban chargers. I’m not sure how easily you could cluster 3 cars around it though.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Yup this is in the corner behind Starbucks. There are 8 V2s + this pallet, which appears to have three urban chargers. I’m not sure how easily you could cluster 3 cars around it though.

I believe that only two work at any given time. By placing 3 on the pallet, it allows for flexible placement in temporary locations.

 

[Park2670]

Those have been there for months, sadly. And when I plugged in I only got 42kW max. Moved to a unshared V2 and got 128kW.

 

[mihanson]

Passed thru on Sept 7 and the temporary urban equipment was wrapped up in plastic. Looks like they might be getting ready to remove them. Not sure if this means an expansion is imminent.

 

[SilverSp33d3r]

Passed thru on Sept 7 and the temporary urban equipment was wrapped up in plastic. Looks like they might be getting ready to remove them. Not sure if this means an expansion is imminent.
View attachment 706717

Time to hunt for the new location!

 

[Yanquetino]

Passed thru on Sept 7 and the temporary urban equipment was wrapped up in plastic. Looks like they might be getting ready to remove them. Not sure if this means an expansion is imminent.

That'd be my guess! Especially since they've already expanded the site in Beaver. When I do my weekly cleanup of the Superchargers this weekend, I'll check them out. If they are expanding, I wonder if they'll put new V3 units at this location, or where the other urban chargers are located near the convention center…? The latter might prove a more optimal spot, since it is closer to the interstate. On the other hand, there aren't as many services close by there. Owners would have to walk a ways to get to a restroom, even farther for food or refreshments.

 

[Phlier]

Just wanted to give anyone headed through St. George a heads up...

Both supercharger locations here have increased their prices to $.30 kW/h.

It used to be cheaper to charge here than the national average. I haven't looked in a while, but it looks like that isn't the case any longer.

Ah, well, at least you're not paying for gas. St. George's gas prices have always been substantially higher than Utah's average.