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John Daley ReportingA tunnel from Alta to Brighton and a year-round road connecting Park City with the Cottonwood Canyons, that's a new proposal that leaders in government, tourism and the ski industry will soon discuss.
"Talking Points" were posted on a ski website. They lay out a bold proposal that would connect seven resorts and allow Utah to start seriously challenging Colorado. However, there are two big questions about impact on the environment and money.
As the crow flies, Utah's seven Cottonwood Canyon and Park City resorts are separated by just a few miles. For years the mountains have harbored dreams of connecting all of them by tunnel road or both. Now comes a new dream with a proposal mysteriously posted on a ski website, with talking points for 25 influential government and ski industry leaders.
The idea is a single bore tunnel linking Alta and Brighton and a year-round road on Guardsman Pass between Brighton and Park City. The cost estimtate is between 300 and 400 million dollars.
Nathan Rafferty, President, Ski Utah: "In the ski industry we're always looking way down the road, and we look at our neighboring ski regions to the east and the west and see some of the issues they've got with traffic and it only makes sense to start taking a look at these things."
Long-time conservationist Alexis Kelner has heard these ideas before, dating back to a road up Catherine's Pass going back to 1945 scrapped for cost, which he says will be just one of the questions ahead.
Alexis Kelner, Trustee, Save Our Canyons: "What do you do with all of the trucks hauling stuff down? Where are you going to put it? The debris that'll come out of the construction of a tunnel such as that would fill the University of Utah stadium. Little Cottonwood Canyon, or in the valley? Where are you going to put it in the valley?"
Impact on water supplies would be another issue, though ski leaders say these discussions are very preliminary.
Alexis Kelner, Trustee, Save Our Canyons: "It's a watershed canyon. All of those canyons are watershed canyons."
Nathan Rafferty, President, Ski Utah: "I don't even want to talk about having to pay for it. That's way down the road, but right now we're just talking about infrastructure and what might be."
The first meeting to discuss these plans is November 3rd in the Governor's office.
