George Muir, a long-time Project Superintendent and Project Manager for Orem-based WW Clyde, capped his lengthy career—one spanning five decades—in June with the completion of the $3.7 million Bridal Veil Falls Flow Restoration project in Provo Canyon. 

He said not many projects can compare to the beauty of this one, with the towering 607-foot, double cataract waterfall in Provo Canyon serving as a majestic backdrop to the construction site. 

“It’s been a good project,” said Muir, a soft-spoken, hard worker who graduated from Wasatch High in 1974 and worked for Shocker Construction for five years before joining WW Clyde in 1979. His father, Bob, worked in construction as a truck driver, operator, and superintendent, so construction was a natural career path for Muir. He said he’s always enjoyed the work, particularly learning new techniques and technologies that help expedite work safely and efficiently. 

“It’s challenging learning new innovation and technology,” he said. “Things change. You come from an old school, and sometimes it’s hard to go through changes. You just have to learn to adapt.”

Muir has worked under seven different WW Clyde leaders during his 43 years at the company, including current President Dustin Olson, who Muir said worked for him as an intern on the Utah Olympic Park Ski Jump project in Park City.

Memorable projects include a highway project from Salina to Sigurd in the mid 80s and the Point-of-the-Mountain Aqueduct from 2007-2008 that included 60,000 combined LF of 48-in., 60-in., and 84-in. pipeline in Draper and Sandy. He said it was a “unique job” with the company utilizing slide rail shoring for the first time. 

On this project, Central Utah Water Conservancy District tasked WW Clyde with improving flow to the Bridal Veil Falls Pond adjacent to the Provo River Parkway Trail. Crews moved the existing diversion point from the lower plunge pool to allow water to flow freely down the falls to the pond at its base. From there, water is piped under the Provo River and pumped into the Olmstead Flowline through an existing pipeline. 

The construction team built a new pump station, including a concrete vault with submersible pumps, concrete electrical room, new power supply, precast vault with irrigation meters, and installed roughly 500 ft. of 20-in. and 12-in. pipes, along with conduits, irrigation lines, and re-vegetating and restoring surfaces. 

Perhaps the most complex aspect of the project was creating a temporary 48-in. bypass pipeline for the Provo River to flow through in order to install the new 24-in. pipeline in dry conditions six feet below the river. 

“It’s a pristine river,” said Randy Lingwall, Project Manager for W.W. Clyde. “We cut through the river, and hardly a person knew we had done that. It’s an aesthetics thing, along with maintenance and public perception.” Lingwall said a previous steel pipeline kept being compromised by people throwing rocks into it. 

Muir, who lives on a farm in Wallsburg in nearby Wasatch County, said he’s “going from two jobs to one” as he’ll continue to raise cattle and grow alfalfa and hay on 180 acres of leased land. 

Lingwall said of Muir’s retirement, “It’s bittersweet for him. This has been his job for 45 years—it’s a major life change.” A change that Muir has earned.