A $3.2 million surf wave taking shape in the Weber River is on budget and on schedule, with Ogden crews having already cleared riverbanks, installed new stonework, and torn out an old concrete weir along Exchange Road near the 24th Street Viaduct. What's left is the part that actually makes the waves: a pneumatic air bladder system still waiting to be installed.
Construction Hits Its Stride After January Start
Crews broke ground on the project in January 2026, and the work has moved steadily since, according to KUTV, which reported on the city's plans to restore the river and install the new surf attraction. Ogden has cleared the river banks, installed new stonework, removed the abandoned concrete weir, and placed concrete structures in the river, the station reported. Phil Suiter told the outlet that crews cleared bushes and shrubs, removed the abandoned weir, and installed the concrete structures that will shape the river's new layout.
The surf wave structure itself will sit in the middle section of the reworked river, flanked by a fish passage channel on the river's right side and a bypass channel on the left, per the same account. Once finished, the design routes water through three distinct paths at once — one for surfers, one for fish, and one that simply lets the river keep moving.
Waiting On the System That Makes the Wave
The project still needs the pneumatic air bladder system that will lift gates and channel water to form the standing wave, the report notes. Suiter said the project remains on track for completion by the end of 2026, even with that key piece of equipment yet to go in.
That bladder technology mirrors systems used at urban surf parks in Boise, Idaho, and Bend, Oregon, where underwater inflatable bladders beneath steel gates can be adjusted to reshape the wave as river flow changes, according to Smithsonian Magazine. Engineering firm River Restoration, working alongside design teams from AECOM, developed the hydraulic modeling and 3D computational fluid dynamics simulations used to balance wave quality with fish passage needs for the Weber River site, per project documentation reviewed by River Restoration.
The wave will likely peak after spring runoff swells the Weber River in April, May, and July, per KUTV's report. Until the bladder system is installed and commissioned, exactly how that seasonal flow will translate into rideable waves remains to be seen.
Grants Cover Most of the Cost
The project carries a bid of about $3.2 million, with roughly $1.9 million coming from city funds and about $1.3 million covered by state and county grants, according to the station's report. A fuller accounting from the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation shows a $750,000 award through the Utah Outdoor Recreation Grant program in 2024.
Construction is led by general contractor Redoubt Restoration, selected following a December 2025 bid opening, with the city's project tracking listing a scheduled completion in November 2026, according to Ogden City. Official engineering documents also call for a concrete river access ramp, slab stone steps, and boulder placement for bank stabilization alongside the wave shaper itself, additions intended to improve safety and shore up the riverbank near the adjacent bike path.
Part of a Larger River Redevelopment Push
The surf wave is officially designated the Ogden Business Exchange Surf Wave Project and sits beside the Ogden Business Exchange, according to the Ogden City Redevelopment Agency. The city assembled the land and used Tax Increment Financing along with federal brownfields loans to convert former stockyards into that business park, with amenities like the surf wave meant to help recruit outdoor manufacturing tenants.
It builds on the existing Ogden Whitewater Park just upriver, per American Whitewater. The Ogden Play Park project ran from 2018 to 2022, involving sewer-line stabilization beneath the 24th Street Bridge and creating three grade controls. The site also connects to the Weber River Parkway, where the Trails Foundation of Northern Utah has secured funding for a new river bridge linking nearly 10 miles of river trail to the regional Bonneville Shoreline Trail network, according to the State of the BST trail report.
