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Steamboat Springs — A public improvement construction project at the base of Steamboat Ski Area is going well and mostly on schedule, Redevelopment Coordinator Joe Kracum said, and above-ground improvements will begin to take shape in about a month.

"We had to do a lot of excavation in that area," Kracum said. "Hopefully, we'll be out of the ground sometime in about three weeks."

Construction crews dug a massive, 18-foot-deep hole near Slopeside Grill on the north side of the base area to replace a sewer line and prepare for the installation of a Burgess Creek diversion structure. Burgess Creek disappears beneath the lowest trails of the ski area, and this summer's work is a precursor to plans to ultimately bring the creek back above ground, where it will flow beside a planned horseshoe-shaped promenade along the immediate ski base.

"This is like the first piece in the daylighting project," Kracum said.

The work is a project of the city's urban redevelopment authority, which receives a portion of sales and property taxes within its base-area boundaries to finance public improvement projects. Also this summer, the URA is completing landscaping and irrigation work at a roundabout constructed last summer at AprÃs Ski Way and Mount Werner Circle.

The promenade is the URA's flagship project; it is not scheduled to be complete until 2012. While construction of the diversion structure is a mostly invisible part of the overall project, when complete, it will create a new seating area and fire pit flanked by a water feature east of Slopeside where there previously was just a hole in the ground. Kracum said the so-called Burgess Creek Plaza will include stone seat walls near the fire pit and a granite formation representative of the local geology.

"I think it's going to be really beautiful," Slopeside General Manager Camille Flynn said. "We'll see how it turns out."

This summer's construction has not resulted in any unplanned utility outages, Kracum said. Flynn said the work has become mostly unnoticeable.

"We're so used to construction up there," she said. "I hardly notice it anymore, to be honest with you. ... I'm not sure if it's affected business by any means."

Kracum said he and the City Council's advisory commission for base area redevelopment are continuing to work on ways to spur activity at the base area to offset a reduction in consumer traffic since the demolition of Ski Time Square. At a meeting last week, the commission discussed ideas including offering tethered balloon rides.

"We're going to talk with some of the business owners and see what can be done," Kracum said. "At this point, we're still looking for some new ideas for this winter."

The city loaned the URA $2.6 million to get started on this year's projects, which are scheduled for completion in November, while it waits for the issuance of a $12.5 million bond that is behind schedule. After the bond issuance, the URA will repay the city and use the remaining money to complete its other projects.