Palmerton, PA – Blue Mountain, one of Pennsylvania’s busiest ski resorts, plans to a $20 million water park to its list of amenities.

The 20-acre facility will expand Blue Mountain’s summer offerings to drive year-round revenue that could lead to construction of a future slopeside hotel. Officials believe that the new water park will draw 3,000 visitors daily to Blue Mountain in summer.

Blue Mountain officials estimate that the water park will create 100 full-time and 400 part-time jobs by the time it opens in 2016. Four years in the planning stages, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation finally signed off on the project in December due to a requirement for a new entrance to the resort. The actual opening date of the water park and its list of attractions depends on profits from winter operations, which will fund the water park’s construction. Groundbreaking is planned for this April.

Another popular Pennsylvania ski area, Camelback in the Pocono community of Tannersville, already operates a popular water park in summer.