Construction work starting at Point of the Mountain for Murdock canal enclosure project
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...e-project.html
By Sam Penrod, Deseret News
PROVO — Heavy machinery is being used at Point of the Mountain on both sides of I-15 for a very complicated construction project directly below the freeway.
The construction is part of a $150 million pipeline that will completely enclose what is now an open canal...
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Gerber to build trail atop Murdock Canal - Hiking • 16-mile trail to run
through 7 cities, over enclosed canal.
By Donald W. Meyers
The Salt Lake Tribune
A Lehi-based contractor is building a 16-mile trail on top of the soon-to-be enclosed Murdock Canal.
The Utah Department of Transportation awarded Gerber Construction a $12.1 million contract to build a multiple-use trail from the mouth of Provo Canyon to Cabela’s in Lehi, according to UDOT spokesman Scott Thompson. The trail will sit on the Murdock Canal, which the Provo River Water Users Association is enclosing in a 10.5-foot diameter pipe.
The only other bidders for the project were Ames Construction, which came in at $14.48 million, and Geneva Rock, at $14.49 million. Ames is the contractor on the $150 million canal enclosure project and is also part of the Provo River Constructors consortium that is rebuilding Interstate 15 in Utah County.
The trail project is a joint venture involving UDOT, Utah County, the water users association and the cities of Orem, Lindon, Pleasant Grove, Cedar Hills, American Fork, Highland and Lehi. The trail will provide space for hikers, cyclists and horseback riders.
Richard Nielson, Utah County’s public works director, said the construction will depend on how quickly crews can pipe and bury the canal, also known as the Provo Reservoir Canal.
Steve Cain, the water users’ facilities and land manager, said work began in December on the segment that will go between the north end of Pleasant Grove and the east side of Lehi. So far, 3,000 feet of pipe have been laid.
The next segment, going from Lehi to the Jordan Narrows, will be finished this summer. The project is expected to be completed by spring 2012.
Cain said the trail work will likely have to wait until then.
“The only thing we’re not sure yet is how to dovetail the trail work with the fiber-optic system that gets installed with the canal enclosure,” Cain said.
The 90-year-old canal carries water from the Provo River at Provo Canyon to the Jordan River at the Jordan Narrows in Lehi. The canal is owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and operated by the water users.
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