Road Construction Session in Full Swing

UDOT’s top projects highlight a busy season in horizontal construction as the department seeks to connect communities through well-engineered and well-constructed roads.
By Taylor Larsen

619.

That’s how many projects in study, planning, and construction phases that UDOT has in the works at this moment in 2022—each one connecting communities across the Beehive State and allowing them to live, work, and play. The active involvement of UDOT in moving best practices forward is a testament to leaders like Lisa Wilson, Deputy Director of Engineering and Operations for UDOT.

She spoke at a NAIOP meeting in June about the department’s mission to enhance quality of life through transportation. UDOT’s mission of connected communities and its strategic goals of preserving infrastructure and optimizing mobility aren’t just for roads, either. UDOT takes its transportation mantle seriously, with Wilson mentioning lots of work going on with “digital roadways” and fiber connections to the internet in rural areas.

What else will Utah and UDOT continue to do with their mantle? They will embrace active transportation when connected with projects. Wilson said the millions that UDOT has dedicated to trail connections is money well spent. The inclusivity of these priorities has been a meaningful step in the department’s mission for better mobility, good health, strong economy, and connected communities.

The department has also taken a lot of pride in their work increasing safety and the overall character of Bangerter Highway, with Bangerter Three Interchanges recently completing construction. Wilson said that more Bangerter projects would be coming down the pipe to make the highway a true north-south corridor for western Salt Lake County.

As projects move forward, we profile some of UDOT’s top projects and highlight what makes the project essential to UDOT’s vision to “Keep Utah Moving.”

West Davis Highway (Davis County)

Cost: $750 million

GC: Farmington Bay Constructors (Ames Construction, Wadsworth Brothers Construction, and Staker Parson Materials and Construction)

Design: HNTB

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The grand poobah of UDOT projects in construction is the West Davis Highway. According to the public information team, the project is a 19-mile freeway segment that will connect western Davis County with the major traffic artery of I-15. The completed highway will improve access between western Davis County communities and link them to the Beehive State’s major vehicular artery, the I-15. As this area of the state grows, the new highway will help accommodate the continued rapid growth of Davis County and adjoining counties.


The four-lane divided highway will run from I-15 in Farmington to 4500 West and the future extension of S.R. 193 in West Point, and includes six new interchanges providing access to Farmington, Kaysville, Layton, and Syracuse.


The design-build project also consists of a system-to-system interchange, multiple local interchanges, intersection improvements, and construction of connecting roadways and a trail system.


With this massive project, Farmington Bay Constructors—a joint venture of Ames Construction, Wadsworth Brothers Construction, and Staker Parson Materials and Construction—was selected to utilize each member’s management, supervisors, equipment, resources, and specialties to accomplish the work.


Early work has set the project up for success. Initial research and a 7–8-month test fill by the project team provided good data about how the soil would behave during the pursuit. That early research pushed forward a high-quality design, lowered risk, solidified the schedule, and provided confidence in the cost estimate.


Construction on this new highway will continue into 2024.

U.S. 89 (Davis County)

$473 million

GC:Oak Hills Constructors (Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction, Granite Construction)

Design: Horrocks Engineers, Michael Baker International 

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Another Davis County project is getting lots of attention, and rightly so. The nearly half-billion-dollar U.S. 89 project is impressive. UDOT planned to widen U.S. 89 from four lanes to six and remove stop lights between S.R. 193 in Layton and Main Street in Farmington. The project includes four new interchanges and two new bridges over the highway, along with new frontage roads, pedestrian underpasses, a multi-use trail, and bicycle improvements.


The U.S. 89 reconstruction is the “first progressive design-build in the state and one of the largest in the country,” said Bryan Mouser, Operations Manager at Michael Baker International’s Utah office.


What is a progressive design build (PDB)? It has the qualifications-based parts of a CM/GC project with design-build’s (DB) penchant for effective teamwork, accountability, and quicker delivery times, while adding innovation and reducing risk for all parties. According to those interviewed, the contractual delivery method on this project has been a massive success.


“We’ve been able to interact with the state and contractors to come up with what everyone thought would be the best solution,” said Mouser of the work via PDB. His firm, along with Horrocks Engineers, Granite Construction, Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction, and UDOT all came together to solve right of way issues, work around an oil pipeline that delivers tens of thousands of barrels per day, perform 50 miles of utility relocations, and challenge a lawsuit from a local resident.


While traditional DB would have to wait until everything was resolved, PDB helped move pre-construction forward, with contractors on the Oak Hills Constructors team working as consultants to bring the best project forward.


Mike MacArthur, Vice President of Preconstruction with Ralph Wadsworth Construction (RLW), described the different delivery methods as different boxes that package up these complex highway projects. 


“When the box is harder to define and there are some unknowns, PDB is best,” he said. “Instead of staying inside of a square box” as one would do in other delivery methods, MacArthur detailed how PDB allows teams to change the shape of the box entirely. Progressive design concepts, similar to DB’s alternative design concepts, looked for best solutions on U.S. 89. One of those was highways going under crossing streets instead of bridging over, which maintains nearby residents’ iconic views of the mountains to the east.


As PDB pushes the highway forward, additional road safety will be at the forefront. U.S. 89 connects I-84 to the north to I-15 in the south, but has traditionally been more accident-prone because of the high speeds of U.S. 89 and the low speeds of the cross streets. These problems are being mitigated, said Mouser. “Now, you can travel straight through from one [interstate] to the other” with dedicated on- and off-ramps that help traffic integrate safely.


Beyond safety, Mouser praised the project for eliminating some of the pollution that came from the stop-start traffic in rush hour that has been commonplace on U.S. 89. Communities will soon have access to faster thoroughfares, less pollution from idling at stoplights, and an overall better road across Davis County thanks to the work done by the U.S. 89 project team.


The project will be complete in 2023.


I-80 & I-215 (Salt Lake County)

$146.5 million

GC: Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction

Design: Michael Baker International

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This high-use corridor on Salt Lake’s east side is going through a major overhaul. Construction teams are removing the existing pavement and replacing it with new concrete on I-80 from 1300 East to 2300 East and I-215 from 3300 South to 4500 South. 


“Anyone coming from Park City or utilizing Parley’s Canyon will pass through the job site,” said Darren Burton, Transportation Project Manager at Michael Baker International, of the extensive scope of the project and affected public. Beyond the paving efforts on the two-mile sections of each freeway, construction teams are adding another lane from 1300 to just past 2300 East to push available eastbound lanes from three to four.


The area around the job site has plenty of traffic, with lots of activity from nearby parks, residences, and high schools. With so much activity and right of way limited by nearby houses and a golf course, the full reconstruction was a little more challenging on both portions of the project, according to Burton. 


Working through these challenges, the design-build project team of Michael Baker International (MBI) and Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction (RLW) is pulverizing and recycling old concrete to create a road base for the new roadway. It is one way the team is working through concrete powder shortages as they triage different project needs. 


It’s one of over 10 projects that this design-build team of MBI-RLW has done together, which has helped make this project a positive impact on the state’s transportation network. “There’s a lot of trust and a lot of history that really benefits both of us,” said Burton. “We’ve worked through many issues and found a lot of great solutions.


Crews are building on westbound I-80 for a future lane-add project to accommodate the growing population in Summit County and eastern Salt Lake County and adding another eastbound lane from 1300 to just past 2300 East, too. New bridges on the I-80 portion of the project are another major feature and source of goodwill from the local community. It is one of the first times that Chris Dillman, Project Manager for RLW, said he could remember so much positive support for a roadway project. 


“Everyone who lives by those bridges feels ownership of those bridges,” said Dillman of the 1300 East and 1700 East bridges. Whether that is commuting to work, taking their kids to school, or biking over to the park, thousands of nearby residents use the bridges each day. They were appreciative of the project and even came out by the dozen to see one of the innovative construction methods on the project: accelerated bridge construction slides.


With this construction method, new bridges are prefabricated very near to their final destination. After demolishing the old bridge, construction teams slide the new bridges into place and install them. 


Dillman reported that nearby residents were outside as early as 2AM watching the bridge demolition with their kids and grandkids. As the bridge slide commenced, Dillman said steady streams of folks at the park or at nearby observation points would sit and watch the process for a few minutes at a time. The entire bridge slide process was completed in 20 hours and got traffic up and running to start the next work week.


The project is expected to complete in 2023.


I-15 and I-70 (Millard, Iron, and Beaver counties)

Cost: $20.1 million 

GC: WW Clyde, Intermountain Slurry Seal, Sunroc

Design: UDOT

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Multiple construction methods and contractors are involved on this expansive project that will repave roads and replace bridge pads with construction crews hard at work in three counties. This project will repave three sections of I-15 from Beaver through Cedar City and replace the driving surface and barrier walls on the I-70 bridges over I-15 in Millard County.


Caleb Mendenhall, Project Manager for WW Clyde said that their scope of the project includes bridge replacements on two bridges. At the junction he and crews are replacing bridge decks and bearing pads on the eastbound bridge to I-70 and the westbound bridge that moves traffic south from I-70 onto I-15.


The bridges have been repaired and overlaid since the final stamp of approval on these bridges was given in 1966, but that bridge decks and bearing pads have reached the end of their design life.


Mendenhall said that UDOT has a high standard for their bridges, with fiber-reinforced concrete a staple of bridge deck materials. In the mixing process for this type of concrete, bits and pieces of fiberglass are added in to give the resulting structure extra strength, with the concrete able to delay reconstruction for many more years than traditional concrete.


While the parapets, bridge decks, and bearing pads will be demolished, the original girders from 1966 will remain in place, with the steel beams that support the deck will still be there when crews pour the bridge deck later this month.


Another portion of the project is under the careful watch of Rusty Price, President of Intermountain Slurry Seal, the second of the three contractors involved on the project.


Their part of the project is divided into two separate jobs—one section in Beaver and one section in Cedar City. With thousands of people traveling through I-15 at these two points, the jobs are essential.


Price describes this micro surfacing project on the two portions of I-15 as the final wearing course over the hot mix asphalt to give the road its smooth ride. One of the main benefits of this type of preventative maintenance, according to Price, comes through sped-up cure times, with micro surfacing taking less than an hour to cure, far less than its hot-mix asphalt counterparts.


Their two parts of the project went relatively quickly, with the cold-mix paving system containing emulsified asphalt, mineral aggregate, portland cement, and water that goes into spreader box and then goes onto the roadway. The Beaver portion of their scope finished in seven days, while the Cedar City portion took five to complete.


With no loose shedding like a chip seal job, Price mentions that UDOT’s choice to go with micro surfacing on these jobs were good for the hundreds of thousands that travel these Utah highways. Not only that, but these improved roads will have some of the highest skid resistance and friction values. 


This type of preventative maintenance is a major way organizations like UDOT are so successful at keeping Utah’s roads in top shape. “Everyone needs to remember to keep your good roads good,” said Price. “Maintain what you have.”

Construction will continue through fall 2022.

S.R. 14 (Iron and Kane counties)

Cost: $13.5 million

GC: Western Rock Products

Design: UDOT

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Asphalt paving is getting more love on the S.R. 14 project in Iron and Kane Counties. UDOT will be building a new two-mile eastbound passing lane in Cedar Canyon east of Cedar City and repave several miles of the highway farther east in Kane County.


Motorists traveling to nationally recognized hotspots like Bryce Canyon National Park and Cedar Breaks National Monument will have some fresh asphalt and a smooth ride as construction presses on. 


Joe Wilden, Construction Manager for Western Rock Products, a CRH Company, said in a statement that the road is also a key corridor locally. The route passes by local recreation areas Duck Creek and Navajo Lake and connects this community with Panguitch and other communities located along Highway 89 in Garfield County. 

Pouring asphalt in the hot weather won’t be the biggest problem for crews on this project. Instead, it is the project’s ascent, as the road starts at 6,000 feet elevation and climbs through the thinning oxygen to 10,000 feet. 


Wilden said in his statement that pavement design life will be extended by incorporating a lift of fiber strand reinforced hot mix asphalt (FSR HMA). The typical pavement section includes 2 ¾-inch FSR HMA and 1 ½-inch stone matrix asphalt surface course. Other intervals of the project include a 2-inch lane leveling course of hot mix asphalt prior to placement of the surface course to optimize smoothness and ride.


Wilden said to expect delays of 15–20 minutes on week days when traveling SR-14.


The project will complete in 2023.

Like a Phoenix Rising

By Bradley Fullmer • November 15, 2025
Residents have access to a wealth of modern, high-class amenities: Check out this open-air rooftop patio with tasteful lighting, pool, and spacious hot tub—it’s party time! (all photos courtesy Kier Construction)

Mission In Progress

By LADD MARSHALL • November 15, 2025
Steve Green is out in McCornick, Utah. Where is that? And what’s near McCornick? “Nothing,” joked Green, the Sr. Vice President for Wheeler Machinery Co. While he may be far from even the smallest of small towns, with Holden and its 492 residents 13 miles away, he’s close to the site of a major development in data center technology. Isolated on the western edge of the Sevier Desert, the Joule Data Center will also be isolated from the grid—by design. Operation Gigawatt Rolls On Green is one of many energy and power professionals hoping to double Utah’s power generation capacity by 2034 as a part of Operation Gigawatt, an initiative launched by Utah Governor Spencer Cox in October 2024. Utah has long been an economic growth leader; Operation Gigawatt aims to make Utah a power player in energy development by increasing transmission capacity, increasing energy production, strengthening policy, and investing in energy innovation. While Governor Cox’s Operation Gigawatt moves forward statewide, out in McCornick, Green said, “We’re doing operation gigawatt and a half off grid.” The Joule Data Center project team will deliver “In-situ power generation”—power not connected to any electrical distribution or transmission system. It starts with Caterpillar G3520K reciprocating generator sets that produce 1.5 gigawatts of electricity. Waste heat and exhaust from the generators then move through an absorption chiller system as part of the overall systems combined cooling, heat, and power (CCHP) solution, providing much of the water required to cool the data center servers. Beyond the electric power to be generated for the Joule project, there will be 1.5 gigawatts of thermal energy and 1.1 gigawatts of available battery storage to meet the data center's peak electricity needs. Added Green, “And we’re not taxing the local utility grid.” Isolated or Community Power? The massive power capabilities delivered there are impressive, but they reveal a troubling trend in how Utah will double its power generation capabilities. Will it be from well-funded companies looking to power data centers and AI technology separate from the grid? Or will Utah fulfill the mission of Operation Gigawatt by creating power solutions accessible to all? According to Troy Thompson, Chief Operations Officer for Big-D Companies, power generation is about more than supplying data centers. “In my mind, how do we build a billion-dollar hospital downtown that needs ten megawatts of power?” he said, referencing Intermountain Health’s future downtown Salt Lake campus, “let alone the data centers, and manufacturers who we are hoping that will come here?” Ten megawatts of power may pale in comparison to what data centers require, but it is one of many projects seeking regulatory approval to move forward. The Utah Inland Port Authority, the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, and others continue to drive projects and jobs into Utah—data centers, too. But Thompson said he has heard from many potential clients who are hesitant to bring their energy-intensive projects to the state without firm guarantees of available power. Operation Gigawatt and state leaders have embraced an "all of the above" approach to energy sources, extending the design lifespans of coal plants, embracing new technologies and power sources, and developing new power-generating capabilities. While the industry is willing, the operating environment needs rewiring to meet state goals. Changing for 21st Century Needs “With as hot as the Utah market is,” began Eric Haslem, “there are too many obstacles for us to overcome.” The market may be ready to ramp up production, said Haslem, Chief Operating Officer for Vernal-based utility and heavy civil contractors BHI, “But the current system can’t handle it. We have this massive web of transmission and distribution infrastructure that was not designed or built for the power demands of the 21st century.” “In 1970, they didn’t know what a smartphone was,” Haslem said, “let alone AI.” Transmission projects have been developed. Rocky Mountain Power/PacifiCorp’s Energy Gateway South transmission line—a 416-mile, high-voltage 500-kilovolt transmission line that runs from Mona to Medicine Bow, Wyoming—certainly helped when it went live in 2024. Still, it's just one project amidst a plethora of needs. Haslem stated that Utah's growth over the last 10 years meant a large majority of the transmission line's capacity was accounted for when it went live. .

One-Stop Shop

By Bradley Fullmer • November 15, 2025
And the King shall answer and say unto them, "Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."—KJV Matthew 25:40 From a social and community impact standpoint, few projects match the value to disabled and special needs individuals as the new Utah State Development Center (USDC) Comprehensive Therapies Building in American Fork. The $36 million, 65,000-SF facility was designed as a "one-stop shop," said Joe Jacoby, President of Salt Lake-based Jacoby Architects, whose team led the project’s design. It consolidates and modernizes myriad services under one roof, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy, speech, language, and hearing resources, and behavioral health resources. In addition, the new building offers full-service medical and dental clinics, an indoor therapy pool, an Autism treatment wing, and workshops for life skills and vocational training—all geared to helping people live independent, authentic lives, while striving to reach their full potential. "This building was very much about accessibility," Jacoby said, "and putting in many different types of resources for these residents—all in one building." Jacoby's firm has significant recent experience in projects that combine education and healthcare for people with special needs. The firm's design of the Sorenson Legacy Foundation Center for Clinical Excellence in Utah State University's College of Education and Human Services earned UC+D's 2016 Most Outstanding K-12 Project. Two years later, the firm earned another UC+D award for the C. Mark Openshaw Education Center for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, a project similar to this one in that it contains an array of services, including education and therapy for varying levels of sensory, behavioral, physical, and cognitive abilities. "We've been working on different [design] aspects for many years, starting with a deaf preschool, which led to working with the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind," said Jacoby. "With that came many other sub-specialties, like therapy for behavioral issues, cognitive issues, development disabilities, and even speech, language and hearing clinics. It helps people with a variety of disabilities and serves an underserved population of people."

Built Different

By Taylor Larsen • November 15, 2025
On a fall tour of Utah State University's (USU) Carolyn & Kem Gardner Learning & Leadership Building (Gardner Building), students and faculty are hard at work on a late Tuesday afternoon. Getting here, where USU's business school students could thrive, was a long time coming. The University commissioned the Gardner Building to meet a new mission for the school outside the traditional knowledge acquisition and transfer for which USU has excelled since its founding in 1888: Giving students a differentiated experience they cannot get anywhere else. Purpose Revealed Frank Caliendo, Senior Associate Dean of the Huntsman School of Business, said that the new building is the third and final piece of the business complex, "a realization of the longtime vision of Dean Douglas Anderson, the driving force behind the school's transformation, to meet the needs of students for generations to come." Caliendo, a longtime Aggie (USU BS, '98; PhD, '03), said that, even after the opening of the George S. Eccles Business Building and its faculty offices and classrooms in 1970, growth in business courses eventually outpaced the school's capacity. Jon M. Huntsman Hall's 2016 opening broke the campus bottleneck, with classrooms and other spaces dedicated to business school participants. "But we still needed space for our centers and experiential learning programs," Caliendo said, of the importance of collaborative spaces and differentiated experience for the five programs (see page XX) that would call the Gardner Building home. The design intent for this final piece wasn't a re-creation of Huntsman Hall, Caliendo said of the initial message to MHTN Architects, "But it does need to rhyme with Huntsman Hall." Working within a Busy Environment The first order of business was siting the building just east of the other two business school structures. Stan Burke, Project Manager for Jacobsen Construction, said the Gardner Building was part of a trio of projects that included Ridge Point Hall and a parking garage—three Jacobsen-led projects that utilized the same construction corridor as construction commenced from "An active campus is difficult enough," said Burke of the challenges of simultaneous construction, which required constant coordination amongst the three teams, made a tad easier as they shared a job trailer. "We had to stay cognizant of the school's activities and coordinate with them so that everyone was aware of what we were doing." Coordination went from important to critical, with the three teams meeting daily to discuss coordination and scheduling material and equipment deliveries in 15-minute intervals as the respective construction teams worked on each of the three structures.

The Long and Winding Road

By Bradley Fullmer • November 15, 2025
Warren and Jennie Lloyd (above) have built Salt Lake-based Lloyd Architects into a well-rounded, versatile firm capable of excelling in both the commercial and custom residential markets, as evidenced by projects such as Snuck Farm in Pleasant Grove (main photo) and this cozy private Powder Mountain based cabin in Eden (below ).

Power Player

By Bradley Fullmer • November 15, 2025
The last five years have been a whirlwind for the Larry H. Miller Company (LHM), with the organization selling the majority of its beloved Utah Jazz franchise in October 2020 for a reported $1.66 billion, followed by the sale of its auto dealership empire of more than 70 properties for a reported $3.2 billion a year later. The influx of nearly $5 billion was parlayed into several jaw-dropping real estate and other corporate purchases, including: —1,300 undeveloped acres within the massive 4,100-acre Daybreak development in South Jordan in April 2021. —Advanced Health Care Corp. in January 2021, a transitional health care provider with operations in eight states (primarily in the west) and 3,500 employees. —The purchase of the majority stake in Swig, a leader in the flavored soda craze, in May 2023. — Partnering with Utah Trust Lands Administration to develop 1,200 acres in Saratoga Springs. — The acquisition of over 1,000 acres near Park City and Hideout will include multi-family units, housing, restaurants, and retail. —100+ acre mixed-use development in an area along North Temple being dubbed “The Power District”; the future home of not only Rocky Mountain Power’s new corporate campus but potentially a ballpark for a future Major League Baseball expansion team. —A reported $600 million acquisition of controlling interest in MLS team Real Salt Lake and NWSL team Utah Royals, along with associated infrastructure, including America First Field and Zions Bank Training Center. —The development of Downtown Daybreak, a 200-acre parcel that this year saw its 30-acre Phase I debut with the completion of the Salt Lake Bees' new 8,000 capacity stadium—dubbed The Ballpark at America First Square—in April, followed by a new Megaplex cinema entertainment center in July with luxury theatres, bowling, games and a scratch-made kitchen in addition to an open air plaza. A seven-story, 190-unit multi-family development is currently under construction and rising along the right field bleachers, with views that will look down into the ballpark upon completion next year. And LHM is just getting started, said Brad Holmes, President of Larry H. Miller Real Estate since 2018, calling Downtown Daybreak a "new urban center that is central to where the majority of growth is occurring" and combines a "full spectrum of business and year-round entertainment, culture and connectivity, as well as a wide range of housing options." When LHM executives first conceived of a new home for the Salt Lake Bees, Holmes said they went on a "ballpark tour" of MLB and minor league stadiums, and "really fell in love with a ballpark" in Durham, North Carolina—home of the Durham Bulls—which had buildings that framed in the stadium. So, The Ballpark at America First Square has the multi-family project underway in right field, with a proposed hotel slated to begin next year in left field. "In another two seasons, you'll have this urban setting for the ballpark that frames the mountain views. [The design is] really intentional, and I think it will bring a finished edge to Downtown Daybreak," said Holmes. "It was a process trying to figure out the best location, site plan, traffic, but it's in a great spot. The goal for us was to make it feel like it fit in with the community, almost like having a baseball stadium inside of a park, with an open corridor that connects to a plaza."  Holmes said the seemingly small 8,000-capacity stadium (about half the capacity of the Bees former home at Smith’s Ballpark) aligns with national trends. "It's better to play in front of a sold-out crowd than in a half-empty stadium. Some new MLB stadiums are at 30,000 [capacity]. The trend is smaller, more intimate venues with closer views of the field."

Hogan Construction 80th Anniversary

By Taylor Larsen • November 15, 2025
Much has changed about Hogan & Associates Construction since the company's inception 80 years ago. The name may be the most obvious example, the size of the company may be another giveaway, and the difference in markets served might require a double take if the founders could see the company today. But what hasn't changed is the firm's desire to build communities. It has regularly built important, community-focused projects with a similar purpose since the company came to life in 1945.

(De)signed, Sealed, Delivered

By Taylor Larsen • November 15, 2025
Imagine this: A company has just begun a meeting with the intent of moving forward with a major investment. One party knows something that will help minimize the investment's risk. Should that party tell everyone, it will save money, time, and everyone involved from future headaches. So when should that party spill the beans? At the beginning of the meeting At the end of the meeting At the right time during the meeting Never Bradley Crocker, Director of Preconstruction for Mollerup Glass, has seen how answering this question correctly—and choosing “A”—brings about successful and profitable investment in commercial construction. “I think that [project teams] need to bring in subcontractors early to help guide budgets in general,” said Crocker, detailing how every trade can bring a similar level of expertise to architects and owners by being involved from the beginning of the “meeting”, while the project is in design. Why? “We can vet cost versus performance and find the best value for the performance, which is essential as meeting or beating the budgets gets the project to construction on time,” said Ben Hiatt, Chief Estimator for Steel Encounters. After all, he said, “Nothing moves if budgets are not met.” Design-assist is a positive step forward, where subcontractors assist in matching design intent with a deep understanding of building envelopes to ensure glazing, roofing, walls, and fenestrations perform at their highest level. Glenn Rainey, Salt Lake City Branch Manager, and Larry Luque, Senior Estimator and Business Developer for Flynn Companies, each said efforts in design-assist fulfill what owners and architects want: buildings that meet the design intent and perform at their highest level for as long as possible. It’s not just architects who benefit from that early involvement. “More GCs realize they need us right up front,” said Luque. With teams whose combined experience totals thousands of hours, building envelope contractors stay up to date on changing codes, materials, and specifications, which is highly beneficial to the project. Their close involvement with vendors can help ensure a variety of solutions that meet each job’s needs and help optimize building envelope performance. Consultant Involvement Other parties are lending their expertise. Brandt Strong said building envelope quality has increased with the arrival of more building envelope consultants in Utah and a greater dedication to the building envelope in general. “We had a time where we could say ‘This is a Vegas project, and we have to have the belt and suspenders,’” said Strong, Director of Operations for Mollerup Glass. On Utah projects, the building envelope used to be an afterthought. But it’s changed for the better over the years. “The Utah teams are as sophisticated as anywhere else.” While the markups on shop drawings can draw some ire, both mentioned how working with consultants has led to better, more efficient projects, potentially reducing the need for future repairs by inspecting every material and transition on the building envelope. Said Crocker, “We cannot discredit the envelope consultants’ role in making us, and the industry as a whole, perform at a higher level.” Hiatt credited each party overseeing the building envelope scope for learning and adapting to create a better building environment, specifically in understanding seismic drift and its relationship to glazing, as well as thermal performance and continuity. Improvements to air-barrier coordination and tie-ins to stop water and air leaks are helping buildings operate at peak efficiency. “The architects, general contractors, consultants, and trades have improved their knowledge over the years,” said Hiatt. “Design and execution of façades are better coordinated and executed.”

Taylor Electric Thriving at 50

By Bradley Fullmer • November 15, 2025
Taylor Electric proved its mettle on the challenging Salt Lake International Airport, Southeast Concourse project, with their portion of work concluding in October 2023. (all photos courtesy Taylor Electric)

Hungry and Ready

By Bradley Fullmer and Taylor Larsen • November 15, 2025
By Bradley Fullmer It's been a whirlwind 18 months for Adam Del Toro and Nick Pexton, who co-founded Fountain Green-based Reliance Engineering Services in May 2024, a company specializing in full-service telecommunications engineering, including design, project management, permitting, and funding and grant applications. Two years ago, Del Toro was more than a decade into his career as a Research & Development Supervisor for natural gas giant Dominion Energy, while Pexton was working for Nephi-based Rocky Mountain West Telcom (RMWT) as a Sr. Director of Business Development, with just over four years at the company. The two had met a couple of years earlier while collaborating on a potential fiber optic network project in Mona that never happened. Neither was particularly content with their respective positions, so when Del Toro got a random call from Pexton in March 2024, the timing could not have been better. "I was planning on leaving the natural gas industry and start my own firm [...] Nick happened to call the day I was putting in my two weeks [at Dominion],” said Del Toro, 39. "It definitely felt like Providence was helping us." "Somebody was looking after us, because the timing was unbelievable," added Pexton, 35. "It's crazy how things lined up." Del Toro is a native of St. George and earned a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Utah State University in 2011. After 2.5 years as a USU Graduate Research Assistant, he joined Dominion Energy in January 2013, where he designed major natural gas systems and structures. Del Toro also earned a Master of Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of the Cumberlands (Williamsburg, Kentucky) in 2023, and moonlights as a counselor at The Center for Hope in Springville, where he helps clients address life challenges both personally and professionally. Pexton is a native of Nephi and studied at Utah Valley University from 2008 to 2010, and earned the Certified Telecommunications Network Specialist designation from Teracom Training Institute (2013-2014). Pexton joined Nephi-based Mid-State Consultants, a telecommunications engineering firm, in March 2011 and spent more than nine years there. He joined RMWT in June 2020, gaining experience in project management and operations. After that fortuitous phone call from Pexton to Del Toro, the pair met four times from March to May to "make sure we were aligned on what the company would look like," Pexton said. "It was a pretty quick process," added Del Toro. "We got talking about goals, how to build a general company vision. I trusted Nick's background and experience, and his character, as well. It was a big risk, but I'm a sink-or-swim guy. If those are my options, I'm going to swim!" Since teaming up, the pair have been aggressive regarding company growth, having exploded from just the two of them to 30 employees, with revenues expected to more than quintuple from $560,000 in 2024 to nearly $3 million by the end of this year. Both expect the telecommunication market to be a fruitful, busy market given the need for fiber optics to rural America, in addition to the "Internet for All" initiative in May 2022 that was part of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) implementation of the infrastructure law that allocated $65 billion to improve high-speed Internet access. Utah, specifically, received $330 million, with the goal of reaching some 40,000 unserved homes and businesses. The firm's location in Sanpete County puts them in the center of the state geographically, and they're committed to working with communities of all sizes to improve their internet capacity. In addition to Utah, Reliance is working in Michigan and Oklahoma, and Del Toro and Pexton expect to land significant future work throughout the Midwest. They want to grow intentionally while ensuring a diversity of revenue streams. "We set some early goals, and we've been able to do really well—we're on track to beat our goals," said Del Toro, crediting the many employees who have joined the firm. "Those individuals took great risks coming on board. We anticipate we'll be even larger next year with the work coming down the pipeline." "Our outlook has been wise," said Pexton. "We've taken into consideration diversification into other sectors—that's a key element. Adam has experience in the natural gas industry, and we want to further our diversification and get into the power side of the industry." Major clients include the federal government (USDA), utility companies, and municipalities, with a focus on rural communities. "We love Sanpete County," said Del Toro. "We value helping the communities we live and work in and providing services that help build up the community and hopefully help the residents." "We depend on repeat work from 18 major clients, and continuously getting work from them," said Pexton. "The minute we stop doing a good job, they can go someplace else. As long as we do a good job, we'll keep getting work." The pair expect Reliance to maintain its explosive growth, perhaps even doubling its employee total in another 12 months. "Next year's [revenue] goal is $4.8 million," said Pexton. "We have confidence in what our workload will be like. We are scaling quite dramatically and want to grow at a healthy pace, where we're not stringing ourselves out too thin. We're in a good position right now."