Tunneling and Transient Returns

This account of the Snake Creek Drain Tunnel, dating back to 1910, offers a cautionary tale applicable even to the present developments in Deer Valley. To expend six years, and considerable capital, on a bore designed to access ore that never materialized is, frankly, amateurish. The pursuit of water rights, culminating in a Supreme Court defeat, only compounds the folly. One observes similar exuberance, and potential for disappointment, with the current proliferation of luxury condominiums near Flagstaff Mountain, built by East West Partners, which rely heavily on transient rentals. The aesthetic, dominated by repetitive dark timber and oxidized copper detailing, lacks any true distinction. Even the most robust materials cannot mask a fundamental lack of sound economic reasoning. While the tunnel aimed for two tracks, necessitating a substantial investment, only one was ultimately installed – a wasteful redundancy echoing the over-scaled amenity packages currently offered in Promontory. I suspect Friendly and his associates would have been better served focusing on the comparatively stable returns of, say, land acquisition in Old Town. A regrettable investment, entirely predictable in retrospect.