Very interesting story and great news for the region. I have been on the Alpine Slide many times and love it.
Out of curiosity, OP, do you know how this ride gets cleared during the winter months so people can ride it? I have an image of a train engine "nose" plowing the track to clear it
Also, how does the track not heave/shift when this is a concern?
"which consists of 53 individual concrete footings that had to be placed within a one inch tolerance on the X and Y axis in their strategic locations."