The bottom of Deer Valley Drive looks different this fall. The base of the mountain does not. High Valley Transit has finished rebuilding the intersection at Park Avenue and Deer Valley Drive as part of its new bus rapid transit line. At Snow Park, the surface lots, Snow Park Lodge and the daily stream of cars through the base will look the way they did last season. Deer Valley has said there will be no construction there in 2026, and it hasn't given a new timeline. Years of approvals, hearings and a court case have all been about a garage and transit center at the base. The first change to the Snow Park traffic picture that's actually finished is a bus project's intersection half a mile down the road.
What Got Built at Park Avenue and Deer Valley Drive
High Valley Transit's construction page lists the intersection as Segment 1 of its new Bobsled Express line, and it says major work there is complete. The work included:
- New turn lanes to improve traffic flow
- New traffic signals and street lighting
- New sidewalks
- Drainage improvements under the roadway
- Rebuilt curbs, gutters, driveways and pavement where construction had cut in
The Park Record listed the intersection among the line's 2026 work areas, with Stacy Witbeck as the contractor. Anyone who has queued at that corner on a powder morning knows why it matters. Every car headed to Snow Park from Park Avenue goes through it, and so does every car leaving the base at 4 p.m.
The Bobsled Express runs from Kimball Junction to Old Town, and High Valley Transit says the full line will be done in fall 2028. This winter, the agency plans to run the stretch it has already finished between Olympic Parkway and Canyons Drive. "Where we've completed work between Olympic and Canyons, we're essentially going to have the BRT running just about fully complete," High Valley's Chief Development Officer Gabe Shields told KPCW on Oct. 6. He also said the orange cones will come off the road heading into winter, and some sections will have dedicated bus lanes. Smaller jobs at bus stops and other off-road sites will continue through the season. Neither source describes a new Snow Park shuttle. The changes on Deer Valley Drive are to the road itself.
The Overnight Paving Has a Few Weeks Left
The second project on this corridor is UDOT's. Its SR 224 preservation work runs from the Old Town roundabout to SR 248, which covers the stretches signed as Deer Valley Drive and Park Avenue. The Park Record reported overnight milling and paving, traffic shifts, temporary lane and shoulder closures, and nighttime construction noise. For homes along Deer Valley Drive, the overnight noise has been the most noticeable part.
As of Sept. 23, UDOT and High Valley Transit told KSL the projects were wrapping up. More paving was planned the following week, and most construction was expected to finish by the end of October 2026. We haven't found an announcement that the repaving is finished. Today is Oct. 7, so expect a few more weeks of overnight work before the corridor is clear.
Snow Park Is on Its Third Schedule
Snow Park is the reason for this post. Deer Valley has been planning to turn the base into a full-service village since well before the current owners arrived. The plan includes residences, lodging, commercial space and amenities on land where the Snow Park parking lots sit now, with a large garage to replace the lost surface parking. The schedule for that work keeps moving.
| When it was published | What it said about Snow Park construction |
|---|---|
| 2024 conceptual phasing plan | Groundbreaking in May 2025 on a garage and infrastructure, with work continuing through 2030 |
| Deer Valley statement, June 2025 | "Construction at Snow Park will not begin this summer or during the 2025/26 ski season" |
| Deer Valley statement, April 2026 | "We don't have an updated timeline, however, there will be no construction this summer" |
The 2024 plan expected crews to be into their second construction season by now. Instead, Snow Park is heading into a second winter with no work started, 17 months after that original May 2025 groundbreaking date. Both statements to the Park Record gave the same reason. The resort is putting its expanded terrain first. The paper also noted that it isn't unusual for real timelines on projects this size to stray far from early conceptual schedules.
Legal and regulatory hurdles aren't the reason for the delay. The Park City Planning Commission approved the Phase I conditional use permit on Feb. 26, 2025. Phase II, which covers development above the garage, still needs its own application. Phase I allows a garage of up to 1,971 spaces, an underground transit center near Snow Park Lodge, and road and utility improvements. Five homeowners associations challenged the city's approval process. On April 1, 2026, a judge ruled that the evidence didn't show the remaining councilmembers were improperly biased, and said a written dismissal would let the associations appeal. We haven't found a report of an appeal filing. Deer Valley's statement that no 2026 construction was planned came about a week after that ruling.
Why the Lots Stay Until Something Else Is Built
There's also a practical reason the base can't change overnight. The garage is meant to replace parking that disappears when the lots are built on, and something has to fill the gap while it's built. In November 2025, Park City and Deer Valley agreed that each would put in up to $15 million toward as many as two offsite transportation projects. Those projects are meant to provide parking before the Snow Park surface lots are replaced. The agreement sets up the money and the order of work. It doesn't mean an offsite lot exists yet.
That order matters for anyone who uses the base. The Park Record expects the work to "create impacts at the base, particularly related to the number of parking spaces that will be available during the various phases," and says Deer Valley would be expected to publish detailed operating plans as each phase begins. No phase has started, so no plan for losing parking applies this season. Any older forecast of reduced Snow Park parking during construction describes a schedule that hasn't happened yet.
What This Season Looks Like From the Bottom of the Hill
Most of this winter's changes at Deer Valley are higher up the mountain. Hail Peak Express adds 200 acres and seven runs, which Deer Valley says brings the resort to 4,500 skiable acres. A new reservoir is meant to support more than 20,000 gallons of snowmaking per minute. Park Peak Lodge is scheduled to open in winter 27/28. Its interior dining and bar work will continue through this season. Both projects are in the East Village area, not at Snow Park.
Here's the calendar as it stands today:
- Through late October: UDOT and High Valley Transit expect most SR 224 work to finish by the end of the month.
- Nov. 20: Park City Mountain's announced opening day.
- Dec. 5: Deer Valley's announced opening day, conditions permitting. That's the Saturday after Thanksgiving weekend, so traffic through the rebuilt intersection won't pick up until then.
- Date not yet announced: Park City Transit's winter service. Last season it started Dec. 8, with more frequent Red, Blue and Green buses and express routes from Richardson Flat to Deer Valley and Park City Mountain. For 2026-27, the city plans to set bus runtimes from historical time-of-day traffic data and limit how often buses switch between routes. The City Council paused the proposed Quinns Junction route.
- Date not yet announced: Snow Park parking rules. UDOT's Wasatch Back recreation page lists five Snow Park lots with preferred parking for cars carrying three or more people, and says 2026-27 details will come closer to the season. Last winter, Deer Valley's guidance listed Snow Park parking as free and gave cars with three or more people priority in Lot 2 on weekends and holidays. That was the 2025-26 policy. The resort hasn't confirmed it for this season.
Snow Park Restaurant, Deer Valley Café, The Brass Tag and Cast & Cut are all still listed on Deer Valley's hours page. Several show "Closed for the season," which is a normal shoulder-season status. We haven't seen any announcement of a new, closed or remodeled restaurant at the Snow Park base for this winter. Opening day will look much like last year's, except that the drive to the base now goes through a newly rebuilt signalized intersection.
For owners near Snow Park, the timing of the base redevelopment affects how a property is valued, marketed and discussed with buyers. That's true even in a year when no construction happens. Ski Resort Property Group follows each Snow Park filing, statement and phase as it's published. If you'd like to talk through what the current timeline means for your home on Deer Valley Drive or near the base, schedule a consultation with our team.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
