Giant conveyor system aids Ogden construction project


Save Story

Show 1 more video

Leer en espaƱol

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

OGDEN -- The many highway construction projects underway in Utah present motorists with inconveniences at times, with narrowed lanes, closed ramps and slow-moving trucks. But there's a project underway in Ogden right now that drivers probably don't even notice.

Thanks to a conveyor system, workers at the construction site don't have to use giant trucks to haul their dirt. The conveyor transports tons of fill material that will be used to extend Ogden's Hinckley Drive from 1900 West to Midland Drive. It's a 1.1-mile project with a $15 million price tag.

**How long is 2,400 feet?**
2400 feet is almost a half mile long (.46/mile) and is equivalent to: - More than three U.S. Capitols side-by-side - Six Utah State Capitols side-by-side - Eight football fields - More than 13 Salt Lake LDS Temples side-by-side - More than 14 White Houses side-by-side
"It just makes sense. You don't use as much equipment out there. It's a little cheaper to operate," says Brad Hansen, Ogden area construction manager for Staker Parson Company. The challenge was to move more a half-million tons of dirt from a pit on the east side of 1900 West to where the major work is going on. 1900 West is a busy 4-lane highway, and construction trucks hauling dirt across it would create all sorts of headaches.

"We figured that there were 14,000 loads that would have to come across there; there would be a truck crossing 1900 every minute and a half to two minutes," Hansen says.

So, Staker Parson, which is a subcontractor with Ralph Wadsworth Construction on this job, brought in the conveyor. From this pit, the dirt is loaded onto the belt system. From there, it's elevated above and over the top of 1900 West. Then it drops down onto another long stretch and crosses over the FrontRunner and Union Pacific tracks. Finally, it gets dumped into a big pile where it's needed.

- 2,400 foot-long conveyor - 500,000 tons of material will be transported - 307,000 trucks will be removed from roads - 414 tons of greenhouse gasses not being emitted into air - *Staker Parson*
The conveyor is 2,400 feet long. It will move 600 to 700 tons of dirt every hour -- or 10,000 tons every day. It's a 12-second thrill ride from start to finish. Conveyor systems are used periodically on construction projects, but they aren't all that common. The conditions have to be just right -- from location to consistency of the dirt.

"If it was some clay or something like that, we wouldn't have been able to use it," Hansen says. "This doesn't come along very often, where you have a material source that is close, where you can put a a conveyor and use it that like it is. It just doesn't happen."

There are other benefits to using the conveyor. By getting the big trucks off the road, the project is safer and there's less noise and air pollution. Staker Parson estimates that by keeping trucks off the roads, it prevents 414 tons of greenhouse gases from getting into the air.

The conveyor will complete its job by the end of the year; the entire project will be done next fall.

E-mail: kmccord@ksl.com

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Keith McCord

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast