President Bush's visit to Salt Lake City meant different things to Utahns of different political stripes. But one thing was as true for conservatives as for liberals: Travel in Salt Lake City was not at its smoothest Thursday.

Traffic on downtown roads was snarled off and on for about two hours Thursday morning as Bush made his way about town and security measures shut down major streets. And flights scheduled to leave Salt Lake City International Airport within 20 minutes of Air Force One's departure were delayed.

The most significant traffic delays Thursday were directly related to Bush's travels. His motorcade consisted of dozens of White House support vehicles, plus Utah Highway Patrol cars and motorcycle officers from a half-dozen agencies.

For his visit with the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prior to his speech to the American Legion, Bush's motorcade left the Grand America Hotel, where he stayed Wednesday night, at 8:15 a.m. and drove down a completely empty, barricaded State Street to the Church Administration Building on South Temple.

Traffic, at the peak of the morning commute, was backed up for more than a block at every intersection along the route.

Later in the day, the president's motorcade went to the western entrance of the Salt Palace on 200 West at 9 a.m., then back to the Grand America at 10 a.m. along West Temple. Motorists using the 600 South exit on I-15 to head east into the city were diverted onto 400 South and other roads as they approached State Street. Closures also impacted South Temple, 200 West and Main.

Delays were likely five to 15 minutes for people traveling into the city, said detective Joe Cyr with the Salt Lake City Police Department. But other motorists reported being stuck in traffic for up to 45 minutes after being forced to take circuitous routes because of the closures.

At noon, the president went to the Utah Air National Guard Base along I-80 and I-215, both of which were closed. He followed that same route Wednesday night when he flew into Salt Lake City aboard Air Force One just before 9 p.m., which also closed the interstates.

Barbara Gann, spokeswoman for the Salt Lake City Department of Airports, said the flight delays were not significant and did not result in a flight logjam, but "it always feels longer when you're stuck on the runway."

Gann said there are always airspace restrictions before and after a presidential arrival or departure. She called the scope of the delays Thursday "relatively minimal."

After the president's plane took off and the airspace restrictions expired, it wasn't long before the airlines were back on schedule.

"In terms of our overall operation it's relatively non-impactful," Gann said.

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Contributing: Nicole Warburton

E-mail: dsmeath@desnews.com; jloftin@desnews.com