Letter from the Editor

A Host of Interesting Projects Underway in Region

The combined value of projects in Utah and Idaho with verified costs in excess of $25 million is more than $4.5 billion – an impressive number in any market, especially one the size of the Intermountain region.

After spending the better part of six weeks trying to come up with an accurate list of Top Projects over $25 million in the two-state region of Utah and Idaho, I’ve decided the experience is probably a lot like….herding cats (remember that Super Bowl commercial from a few years back?). It’s easy coming up with an initial list – the challenge was making sure not to leave anything out.

Another challenge: making sure not to list costs – even estimated costs – on projects of certain private owners. That’s why this year’s No. 1 costliest project is the Allegheny Technologies titanium sponge manufacturing facility ($460 million) in Tooele County, Utah.

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Utilizing McGraw-Hill’s Construction Network project search engine, I punched in the list criteria – projects currently under construction, located in Utah or Idaho, with a minimum value of $25 million. Additionally, I sent out an email to various A/E/C firms asking them to verify the project info I knew, and to include any projects I didn’t know about.

The end result is nearly 60 combined public and private projects – including general building, heavy-highway and civil/infrastructure – with listed values in excess of $25 million, along with a list of 12 other privately-owned projects where costs were not disclosed at the request of the owner.

Another impressive aspect of this list is the total cost of the listed projects – more than $4.5 billion. Add in the estimated value of the 12 projects with undisclosed costs, and that figure jumps to roughly $6.5 billion.

That figure in itself is good news for the local commercial construction industry, which remains busy with project activity, despite the crash of the local residential construction market and the sluggish national economy in other regions of the country.

You want more good news? A search of McGraw-Hill’s Construction Network for projects in various design phases yielded a list of several costly projects, including a major expansion to the Salt Lake City Int’l Airport (estimated at more than $1 billion), a commuter rail line from Salt Lake to Provo (over $450 million), and a new federal U.S. District Courthouse in Salt Lake City ($200 million-plus).

Many thanks to the marketing and communication professionals at various A/E/C firms in this region who provided project information and images. Our publication is better because of your contributions.

In closing, I want to direct attention to our website – www.intermountain.construction.com – which now includes a regular blog, along with a photo gallery of projects in the region. We welcome your feedback.

Regards,

Brad Fullmer
Editor

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