St. George News reports:
http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2016/08/01/cgb-front-end-loader-extinguishes-fire-at-abandoned-visitor-center/
QuoteAfter attempting to fight a fire in an abandoned building in triple-digit temperatures with limited access and lack of onsite utilities, fire crews Sunday called in a UDOT front-end loader to demolish the roof of the structure for the sake of firefighter safety.
Just after 5 p.m., a call came in to the St. George Communications Center reporting a structure fire at the former State of Utah Visitor Information Center just off the northbound Exit 2 on Interstate 15. The building has been abandoned since its closure in 2008.
... When Exit 2 was constructed, the access roads to the former visitor center were restricted, making it difficult Sunday evening for fire engines and emergency vehicles to maneuver through fences and rough dirt roads to get to the fire.
Exit 2 is the new-ish interchange for UT 7, the Southern Parkway.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stgeorgeutah.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F08%2Ffire14-640x427.jpg&hash=fb7e2f6105ca332a99cf80c31414e5378276173c)
Was the intention to reopen this at some point? 8 years is a long time to have a state-owned abandoned structure on the side of the interstate. It seems like it would just be a magnet for vandalism and squatting, one of which probably caused this fire.
More taxpayer $$$ up in smoke.
Rick
Money to build stuff always seems plentiful, money to keep it open is always scarce . . .
They moved the visitor's center to the St George Convention Center. Here's the contact webpage with street address: http://www.visitstgeorge.com/contact/. As far as I know, this is the new permanent location of the southern Utah visitor's center (referenced on the Utah Welcome Center list at http://www.visitutah.com/plan-your-trip/getting-to-utah/welcome-centers). I think the construction of Utah 7 Southern Parkway pretty much eliminated the utility of the old welcome center building and exit, since there just isn't enough room for both of them unless some modifications are made to accommodate multiple on/off ramps in a short distance (see Google Maps, where you can see the old welcome center ramps looping off I-15 just north of the Utah 7 interchange (https://www.google.com/maps/place/St+George,+UT/@37.0300183,-113.6038286,905m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x80ca44d0984939e5:0x531707f2f8a11c1e!8m2!3d37.0965278!4d-113.5684164). I'm guessing everyone thought it better to move the welcome center to the convention center instead. The new center is shown on this map: https://www.google.com/maps/place/St+George,+UT/@37.0771966,-113.5826681,227m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x80ca44d0984939e5:0x531707f2f8a11c1e!8m2!3d37.0965278!4d-113.5684164/.
Now, an entirely new visitor center is set to be built on I-15 near the site of the destroyed one:
http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2016/09/24/cgb-new-and-vital-visitor-information-center-coming-to-st-george/
QuoteA new 2,500-square-foot welcome center is in the planning stages for St. George, promising to provide visitors with a breathtaking view of the beauty that makes Southern Utah one of the most sought after places to see in the Beehive state.
The design and construction plans have been approved for a new Utah Visitor Information Center in St. George, one of five centers strategically placed along freeway exits throughout the state, Utah Office of Tourism Managing Director Vicky Varela said.
"Our target is to have the building completed by the end of 2017," she said, "because the State of Utah Visitor Information Center in St. George is the most important center in Utah."
... The new center will be located on land acquired near the old site off I-15 northbound at Exit 2.