Wheeler Machinery Co. celebrated 60 years in business in November with an afternoon visit from Utah Gov. Gary Herbert at the company’s Salt Lake City headquarters. Wheeler has been a fixture in the Utah construction and mining marketplace as the exclusive dealer and service center for Caterpillar equipment. Photo by Brian Fryer Rob Campbell, president of Wheeler Machinery (left), talks with Utah Gov. Gary Herbert during Wheeler's 60th anniversary celebration in November. Current company president Rob Campbell led the governor on a short tour of Wheeler’s repair and service shop. Herbert watched as technicians in the company’s Component Rebuild Center
The parallel, three-mile stretches of frontage road crossing what used to be farmland west of the Utah County city of Lehi might seem simple enough, but they are the key first portions of the Mountain View Corridor to open for public use. The project is an ambitious 35-mile freeway, transit and trail system connecting 13 municipalities along the western edge of the Salt Lake Valley. Courtesy of UDOT This is one of two bridges over the Jordan River that are part of the recently completed first portion of the Mountain View Corridor highway project in Salt Lake Valley, Utah. The
For decades, traffic congestion in the southern Utah city of St. George was limited to St. George Boulevard, which would swell with traffic during the spring and summer as tourists and retirees crowded into the area to enjoy its temperate climate and nearby national parks. Photo courtesy of UDOT The Dixie Drive Interchange will relieve congestion on I-15 through St. George, Utah. From 2000 to 2005, St. George was the fastest-growing metropolitan region in the U.S., according to census data, and traffic congestion was becoming a regular occurrence. During the height of the population boom in this city about 100
The 21-mile-long Provo Reservoir Canal, which has delivered water from the Provo River to farms and residents of northern Utah County for a century, is finally getting a significant makeover. Photo courtesy of Provo River Water Users Association A new steel pipeline will soon carry Provo River water through the Provo Reservoir Canal. Once the pipe is buried, it will be topped with a paved walking trail. Photo courtesy of Provo River Water Users Association The 126-in. steel pipe gradually fills the open canal trench. When complete, the watertight pipeline will save nearly 8,000 acre-ft of water a year. When
It was certainly the largest oversize load that Interstate 15 in Utah County had ever seen or likely ever will see, as the Utah Dept. of Transportation�s I-15 CORE team moved the 354-ft, four-ton Sam White Bridge into place over the new freeway overnight on March 26. Photos: UDOT The event near the town of American Fork on a misty, cold Saturday night was not only a milestone for UDOT’s accelerated bridge construction (ABC) program but also the largest bridge in the western hemisphere to be moved using self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs). Transportation officials from across the United States and
Construction on the nation�s first data security center for the National Security Agency officially launched with a groundbreaking Jan. 6 on a 240-acre site at the Utah National Guard�s Camp Williams facility about 35 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. Rendering courtesy of Kling Stubbins & Architectural Nexus Photo by Brian Fryer The Utah Data Center groundbreaking. From L to R: Maj. Gen. Brian Tarbet of Utah National Guard; Utah. Lt. Gov. Greg Bell; Rob Moore, president Big-D Construction; Dr. Harvey Davis, associate director for installations and logistics, NSA; U.S. Sen. Orin Hatch; Dep. Director of the Office of the
Tens of millions of dollars in flood control projects and a new bridge put in place after record flooding in November 2005 were put to the test in late December as winter rains deluged the Southern Utah city of St. George and smaller surrounding towns in Washington County. Starting around Dec. 21, heavy rains began swelling the Santa Clara and Virgin rivers. Local and state officials and engineers who had overseen about $75-million worth of work on new dykes, rechanneling and the $6.2-million replacement of a major connector bridge watched closely to see if their efforts had paid off. “I
Sometimes the reason for building green can run deeper than simply the desire to conserve resources, achieve LEED certification or reduce operating costs. They are also driven by a belief in stewardship. “We are entrusted with funds by our members and we have a responsibility to manage them the best we can,” says Jared Doxey, director of architecture, engineering and construction for the Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “We also have the responsibility to be good neighbors to the community and of all mankind and to be respectful of the Earth and its resources.” Mark
Planners in Springville and Spanish Fork, two communities about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City, are making improvements to ensure that electricity keeps flowing uninterrupted to meet current and future demand. Photo by Sohm Photografx Cache Valley Electric recently began work on the first in a series of upgrades to Springville Power’s Dry Creek Substation, which included line work and installation and commissioning of new transformers. The towns have had their own power generation and distribution networks since the early 1900s, with a combined power customer base of about 25,000. Those networks also serve the bedroom communities of the
The Komatsu name is a familiar one at mining operations and construction projects in the Intermountain West, and the Komatsu Equipment Co. of Salt Lake City intends to keep it that way. The firm, which has been in business for more than 50 years, opened its new headquarters in August. The $10.6-million, 102,000-sq-ft, two-story-tall headquarters is mostly occupied by 12 expansive service bays designed to keep everything from small skid loaders to gargantuan mining trucks in working order. The rest of the 11.5-acre site east of Bangerter Highway in Salt Lake City will be used for displaying and testing equipment.