Construction is complete on a new 33,000-sq-ft career center in Salt Lake City for plumbers, pipefitters, welders and HVAC&R technicians run by the Utah Mechanical Contractors Association and United Association Local 140.

The Utah Career Center, which replaces an existing career center, is expected to achieve LEED-Gold certification and will train and recertify more than 1,000 tradesmen annually. UMCA and UA’s apprenticeship programs require over 1,350 hours of training—far exceeding most educational trade program requirements.

Apprentices who complete their education to become UA journeymen also receive associate’s degrees in applied science from Salt Lake City Community College, rounding out their general education.

The building includes state-of-the-art classrooms and hands-on training facilities for new apprentices entering the building trades. It also provides ongoing training and recertification for the various trades represented by their organizations.

Salt Lake City-based Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction Co. was recently awarded two significant bridge reconstructions.

RLW was the lowest bidder on a $24-million project for the Montana Dept. of Transportation located on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Glacier County. The second is a design-build project for the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Federal Highways Division to replace two bridges in the environmentally sensitive Salmon-Challis National Forest in northeastern Idaho.

The Montana structure is located on U.S. 2 over the Two Medicine River. RLW is one of only a small number of companies nationwide with the expertise to construct the cast-in-place balanced cantilever segmental bridge. Construction of the six-span, 1,520-ft bridge and new alignment will begin this fall and be complete by October 2012.

Two bridges in the Salmon-Challis region over the Salmon River will be completely reconstructed. This project is characterized by a remote location with many recreational and commercial users of the roadway and river. Design will begin this fall with final completion in September 2012.

Artspace has created new apartments, offices and studios a few blocks from downtown Salt Lake City that are affordable and adhere to Enterprise Green Communities Criteria. The project is poised to receive LEED-Gold certification and an Energy Star rating.

Located at 824 South 400 West, the $28-million Artspace Commons features 102 apartments and was made possible through the federal New Market Tax Credits program.

Artspace Commons is built on a brownfield site that the nonprofit mitigated through the Utah Voluntary Cleanup Program. Salt Lake City has designated the distressed area surrounding the project as the RDA Granary District, with plans for further residential and commercial development.

The site has 25 kW of solar photovoltaic window awnings, a solar water-heating system for culinary water and space heating, non-emitting paints and finishes, a white roof and a cement parking lot to reduce heat-island effect.