[SmilingBob]

Projects from around the state:

Salt Lake City – The UTAH SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION and UTAH VALLEY STATE COLLEGE have agreed on a blueprint to prepare UVSC for university status. The plan includes building a new library, increasing full-time faculty numbers and developing graduate programs.


Brian Head - With the Brian Head Town Council’s blessing in the form of a $3.7 million special improvement district, roadway and utility work for the Summit at Brian Head Resort complex has begun.
The project is one of four developments in the pipeline for the community. “At total build out, we’ll more than double the size of Brian Head,” said Mayor “Dutch” Deutschlander. Most of the town’s housing units are second homes, with about 50 of the existing 1,000 units occupied by full-time residents. The Lofts, Black Diamond and White Bear are the other three condo projects. The Summit is the largest at 42 acres with 420 condos, 34 town homes and a clubhouse.
Sales, which are targeted to people in the Las Vegas area, are scheduled to begin this fall, with a groundbreaking next spring. The first units should be ready for occupation by late fall of 2007.
While Brian Head is the closest ski area to Las Vegas and draws many of its winter visitors from Nevada, it’s also become a year-round recreational destination for hikers, mountain bikers and ATV enthusiasts.
The town council awarded Feller Enterprises of St. George and M-13 Construction of Springville the contracts to construct and manage the Summit’s infrastructure. Ray Gardner of Gardner Partnership Architects of Cedar City is the project architect and Stantec will be the civil engineer.


Snowbird - A 600-foot tunnel connecting Peruvian Gulch and Mineral Basin in Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort saw the light Aug. 16 as excavators punched through the tunnel exit. The tunnel, the first of its kind in North America, will carry skiers from one side of the mountain to the other on a conveyer belt similar to those in airports.
Skiers will catch a new high-speed quad lift from the base to the tunnel entrance on the Peruvian Gulch side. Then, without removing their skis or snowboards, they’ll travel through the lighted tunnel on the conveyer in about four minutes. Once on the other side, they’ll be able to access the Mineral Basin Express or head down Mt. Baldy.
In Utah, the number of skier days has increased by 29 percent during the past three years, and long lines for the tram to Hidden Peak spurred the improvements at the resort.
“We wanted to give our existing customers a better experience at Snowbird,” without adding a lift or tram on the ridgeline because of aesthetics and concerns about wind shear, says Snowbird President Bob Bonar. Ski tunnels are common in Europe, although they don’t often have the “magic carpet” conveyer, so Snowbird adapted the idea.
The $650,000 project was approved a year ago, and work began Aug. 17, 2005. The chairlift adds $5.6 million to the project, which is expected to be complete by the beginning of ski season.