Over the course of the last 35 years, we’ve had the opportunity to work on dozens of civil engineering and survey projects, but Salt Lake City’s proposed “Food Alley” is a job unlike any other.

With a grand opening scheduled for sometime in early 2019, the countdown is on for our civil engineering and survey teams to complete the 48,000-square-foot job at hand. Here’s a closer look at the work our civil engineering and survey crews are participating in:

Food Alley: A dining aficionados paradise

Sapa Investment Group and The Salt Lake City Department of Economic Development are joining forces to develop the first Food Alley in the entire state of Utah. This $10 million investment into the city’s commercial district will add more than 700 jobs and inject millions of dollars into the downtown area, but “Food Alley” is so much more than a cute name or gimmick.

KUTV says that when the facility is complete it will be located at 800 South and State Street and span nearly 50,000-square-feet. And while the scope is impressive, what’s really exciting is the businesses that will be housed in this space: restaurants — 17 of them.

Currently, an Italian restaurant, sushi bar, ramen shop and beer bar are committed to food alley, but more eateries are expected to hop on board in the coming months.

In addition to a wide variety of dining options, developers hope to use the location to attract traveling chefs from around the country as well as local artists and entertainers. When complete, Food Alley will have a “designated space for them to showcase their work for several weeks at a time.”

Civil engineering at Food Alley

Before Salt Lake City’s newest dining and entertainment destination can start booking reservations, it has to become a reality. That’s where McNeil Engineering’s civil engineering team comes in.

We’ve been hard at work on location preparing various aspects of the project including:

• Site layout and design
• Road design
• Drainage analysis and stormwater retention systems
• Erosion control measures
• 3D models

These design aspects might not be glamorous, but they’re absolutely necessary for a project of this size and scale.

Think about it:

Have you ever been stuck in nightmare traffic at a shopping complex?

Did you ever wonder out loud “who designed this?” while weaving your way through a maze-like parking lot?

If you’re feeling upset, claustrophobic or frustrated behind the wheel, you can bet that it wasn’t us.

Our civil engineering team has years of dedicated experience designing and constructing the driveways and parking areas at subdivisions, shopping centers and restaurants, and we know what works and what doesn’t.

Surveying at Food Alley

McNeil Engineering’s survey team is also contributing to the work at Food Alley.

Their responsibilities include:

• Land title surveys
• Construction Staking
• GIS Data acquisition
• Route and boundary surveys
• HDS Scanning
• CAD and BIM Models

Using cutting-edge laser scanning technologies and software, we’re able to provide our fellow contracting, engineering and construction partners with the data and information they need to complete their respective tasks. Our laser scanning systems, which can capture up to 50,000 data points per-second have also proved invaluable to the work we are doing.

If you need assistance with civil engineering or surveying contact us

If you’re ready to get started on a new civil engineering or surveying project, there’s no better partner than the team here at McNeil Engineering. In 2018, we’re celebrating 35 years of business, and we would be honored to work with you.

Our friendly, professional, and knowledgeable team members are here to bring your ideas to life however they can. Visit our websitehttps://mcneilengineering.com or call us (801) 255-7700to learn more.

Also, know that we’ll be providing updates on our work at Food Alley in the coming months.