- The Sea to Sky Gondola expects to reopen in late spring or early summer. Clean-up from the September 2020 accident has been completed and replacement parts have been ordered. The new haul rope is on it’s way to Squamish and 25 new cabins have been ordered, see a related Weekly Roundup here. Additional security measures “extraordinary in the lift industry” will be taken by the company before reopening the gondola; no details were disclosed.
- The contract for the construction of the 5 km ropeway in Sljeme, Croatia has been awarded. The ropeway will have 84 10-person gondola cabins that will be equipped with heated seats and Wi-Fi. The total travel time will be 16 minutes. To ensure safety, the entire alignment is fully illuminated and has video surveillance. The total value of the project is €70 million. Additional work is being done for the parking garage.
- The US state of Utah’s governor has stated his preference for the proposed gondola system to resolve the transit issues in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Currently Utah Department of Transportation (DOT) is conducting a social, economic, and environmental impact study of each transit alternative: buses, gondola, and cog railway. Utah DOT is expected to make a recommendation this summer. See a related Weekly Roundup here.
- Serbia opens the longest gondola in the world at Zlatibor resort located on the Tornik Mountain. The new gondola, Gold Gondola Zlatibor, spans almost 9 km. The previous record was held by the Tianmen Shan cable car in China that spanned 7.4 km. In 1999 Tornik Mountain was bombed. In 2004 with help of the Serbian government, the resort began to build new lifts.