After more than seven years in the planning phase, construction on the Mountain View Corridor is underway. Earthwork on the project, one of the biggest-ever road projects in Utah, began this spring.

The Mountain View Corridor is a planned freeway, transit and trail system that will service 13 municipalities in western Salt Lake and northern Utah counties. Completion is scheduled for 2013 and will result in a roadway that extends 35 miles from Interstate 80 in Salt Lake County to Interstate 15 in Lehi in Utah County.

The project manager, Copper Hills Constructors, is a partnership between Granite Construction of Salt Lake City, Kiewit Construction of Salt Lake City and W.W. Clyde & Co. of Springville, Utah.

This is not the project team’s first joint venture. “Granite, Kiewit, and W.W. Clyde have considerable experience working with each other through previous joint-ventures,” says Randi Shover, Copper Hills Constructors’ construction information coordinator. “Granite and Kiewit have worked together on large, complex projects throughout the country, including the original I-15 reconstruction in Salt Lake County. Kiewit and W.W. Clyde have partnered from time to time and are constructing the Pioneer Crossing design-build project in American Fork, Utah, and the I-15 Widening, 500 North to I-215 design-build project in Salt Lake City.”

All three team members have extensive experience working on construction manager/general contractor-delivered projects. “The members of the joint-venture believed that our combined experience in Utah, as well as our history of working so successfully together on major projects, presented the Utah Dept. of Transportation with a proven team to complete the Mountain View Corridor project safely, on time and on budget,” Shover says.

Copper Hills Constructors is under contract only for the early construction work and CM services but expects to finalize contracts for the rest of the project soon. As the project progresses, each team member’s responsibilities will become more clearly defined.

Funding for the project came from a $500-million allocation in the 2009 Utah State Legislative Session as part of a bonding package for start of construction in Salt Lake County. The Transportation Commission had previously designated $230 million for Salt Lake County and $130 million for Utah County.

UDOT will use those funds on a 15-mile segment between 5400 South and Redwood Road in Salt Lake County and a three-mile construction site located at 2100 North from Redwood Road to I-15 in Utah County.