ROADWORK, RECREATIONAL PLANS MOVE AHEAD FOR JORDANELLE SITE

The snow is gone and heavy equipment will be rumbling soon at the Jordanelle Dam site, but moving dirt and rocks to push the dam up out of the ground is only part of the Jordanelle story.

Property owners, engineers, planners and politicians are also busy developing plans for recreational amenities around the reservoir to bring economic development for Wasatch and nearby Summit County.And work is continuing at full speed on new highways that will replace sections of U.S. 40 and U.S. 189 that will be closed this fall and later when the reservoir starts to fill in the early 1990s - according to the current construction schedule.

Utah Department of Transportation contractors are moving 16 million cubic yards of earth to relocate U.S. 40 from the valley floor on either side of Hailstone Junction to the mountainside west of the dam site.

The new highway is supposed to be open by October when dam construction on the valley floor will block the existing highway. Once open, the vista from the new road will allow motorists to see both Deer Creek Reservoir to the south and Jordanelle to the north.

Work on a new Wasatch County road that will link Francis with U.S. 40 south of the dam is also scheduled for completion this fall. Another new road is planned to link Kamas with U.S. 40 north of the reservoir.

Work on the earthen dam structure and new highways is clearly visible at the site, but virtually all of the work on amenities is taking place elsewhere.

Both Summit and Wasatch counties are working with property owners and the state to coordinate the proposed development of recreation sites, hotel, condominium and year-round residential developments.

"We've been working on Jordanelle-related projects since before I came to town," said Wasatch County Planner Bob Mathis, who went to work for the county in 1974.

Both counties have formed task forces to oversee development plans at Jordanelle. The groups officially meet separately, but members attend each other's meetings and communicate often, Mathis said.

The counties are involved with the state in a recreation master planning process. A state-sponsored survey of 400 homes in the five-county area surrounding Jordanelle is in the draft stage and will help outline the kinds of recreation residents want. It is expected to identify potential conflicts, such as competition for space by wind surfers and power boaters, and boating hazards caused by alcohol abuse.