Encore Electric to Provide Electrical Construction Services for Visitor Center
September 25, 2018 – Colorado Springs, CO — The US Forest Service and General Contractor GE Johnson broke ground on one of the most ambitious and exciting projects that will be built in Colorado over the next few years: the Pikes Peak Summit House. The new 38,000 square foot visitor center will be easier to visit, include advanced amenities and state-of-the-art electrical design and construction.
The facility is being designed and constructed to preserve and protect one of the nation’s most beloved landmarks in Pikes Peak. It is being built with the highest sustainability standards. When all is said and done, its purpose will be to educate, inform and inspire the tens of thousands of visitors the facility will attract every year.
Pikes Peak is the only fourteener – a mountain with 14,000 feet of elevation – that is accessible to everyone regardless of age or fitness level, according to the US Forest Service.
“We all have individual relationships with Pikes Peak,” said Oscar Martinez, District Ranger for the US Forest Service. “In design, we’ll be capturing the essence of the mountains – locally, nationally and internationally.”
GE Johnson is the general contractor on the project, and they are trusting Encore Electric, the region’s premier electrical contractor, with the electrical construction of the facility.
Jim Johnson, President of GE Johnson, said that there will be stringent requirements about the craftsmen who are allowed to work on the project. Each must pass a physical fitness test and acclimate to working at elevation, as the job site is more than 14,000 feet above sea level.
The job will take place in earnest over the next two years from April through October, weather permitting. Prefabrication will be critical in bringing materials and supplies to the site, to minimize the on-site time at elevation and to make the challenging time frame work.
“I am confident the new Pikes Peak Summit Complex will provide a worthy crown for the popular destination inspiring visitors from all corners of the world and of all ages and abilities for generations to come,” said Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers.
In addition to the new Summit House, there will be a new communications facility for Colorado Springs Utilities and a new Army Research Lab included in the project.
The existing Summit House is expected to continue in service through the 2018 season, with the new facility slated to be competed in the fall of 2020.
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