2025 Mountain States Best Projects
Best Small Project: Weber State University "W"
Weber State University ‘W’
Odgen, Utah
BEST PROJECT
Submitted by Jacobsen Construction
Owner Weber State University
Lead Design Firm VCBO Architecture
General Contractor Jacobsen Construction (Jacobsen Building Services Unit)
An off-and-on temporary attraction at the school since 1937 has finally been built into the Ogden foothills as a permanent feature. Weber State University’s “W” mountain monogram is now a permanent 8-in.-thick shotcrete slab that can be remotely lit. The shotcrete slab structurally supports purple-tinted solar panels that generate more energy than the W requires for its lighting, and the surplus is put to other uses by the university.
The W is located 300 ft uphill from the nearest road at a 35-degree angle. To use that roadway, crews cleared existing rocks and other natural debris that would interfere with the delivery of heavy construction vehicles and equipment, all without disturbing the surrounding landscape. Some materials still could not be delivered up the mountainside. The contractor coordinated helicopter delivery of rebar and large concrete forms. The concrete mix was pumped up the 300-ft mountainside using a specially engineered mix to prevent clogging.
To lightly excavate the W site and to drill more than 100 soil anchors supporting the concrete’s position on the hillside, crews used a “spider hoe” machine to scale the steep slope. A specially trained operator was able to use the machine’s four legs to carefully navigate up the mountain and perform excavation and drilling work. It connected seamlessly with a small drill rig to create space for the soil anchors. The machine and its operator had to be booked months in advance.
The location of the Weber State W also required temporarily rerouting part of a nearby hiking trail, which is part of Utah’s popular Bonneville Shoreline Trail network.
This unusual jobsite required extensive pre-planning. To account for potentially dangerous rock falls, which could easily be triggered by the excavation work of the spider hoe, the team installed extensive, sturdy rock fall fencing and netting in the area immediately below the excavation site, as well as some that fanned out to the sides. The fencing and netting did get put to use on a few occasions and intercepted minor to moderate amounts of rock fall debris. No paths or equipment were damaged and nobody was hurt.
