The transportation organization entered into a $940,000 contract with Stacy & Witbeck Inc. for pre-construction services on the bus rapid transit, or BRT, project Monday.
In a press release, High Valley said the firm was selected because of its extensive experience in delivering quality transit projects. Stacey & Witbeck worked on the award-winning Ogden OGX bus rapid transit project and more than 30 other projects in Utah totaling $3.3 billion.
High Valley Executive Director Caroline Rodriguez said the contractor’s expertise in delivering construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC) projects, especially for newer public agencies like High Valley Transit, also set them apart.
“The reason we have brought the contractor on now is because we're working in a, it's called a CM/GC method, and that allows the contractor to come on sooner, and so that, in addition to the design team and the engineers working on getting ready for construction, the actual construction team can give input on that process.”
Rodriguez said involving a contractor earlier can positively impact the schedule, pricing and phasing of a project.
Construction, mostly including preparation work and staging, will start in the fall. The project is meant to move people through Summit County faster while preserving the area’s rural character. Rodriguez said two new transit centers will be constructed and the east side of state Route 224 will be widened 10 feet to add a dedicated bus lane from Kimball Junction to Old Town Park City.
“Think of that as the size of a surfboard or a kayak, or like a set of double doors,” she said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Tuesday. “Ten feet, the naked eye at a width as big as 224, it's really not noticeable,”
More buses will be added to High Valley’s fleet, running every ten minutes. Rodriguez said it’s estimated commuters would save around 14 minutes on their travel time. However, she said the project will provide something more important than time savings: a reliable, consistent transit system.
She also said traffic impacts will be minimal during construction as most of the work is in the existing right of way.
Rodriguez said the BRT system will be complete and running in the fall of 2027.
