Drivers express concern over damaged section of I-15


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BOX ELDER COUNTY — It was a bright, sunny and smooth drive on northbound I-15 in Box Elder County Monday morning.

And then came the bump. And another. And another. And then a protracted line of bumps.

The interstate appeared significantly damaged with multiple potholes along a seven-mile stretch of interstate between Corinne and Honeyville.

The road conditions didn't escape the attention of drivers, a number of whom expressed their concerns Monday.

One driver, Stephanie Sedgwick, wrote to KSL in an email that the section of I-15 was “the worst stretch of freeway” she had driven on in Utah, and that drivers were “swerving around it like in a video game.”

“This is an accident waiting to happen,” Sedgwick wrote. “They need to fix this stretch of road before someone gets killed.”

A KSL news crew observed multiple semis and trucks maneuvering around the road damage Monday morning.

A sign near the Corinne exit on northbound I-15 cautioned drivers of the potential road damage.

“We have a one-inch surface on top of the original pavement that is coming out in chunks about a foot long and maybe five and six inches wide,” Utah Department of Transportation spokesman Vic Saunders said.

Road crews were perpetually watching for potholes and other road damage to show up during the winter and typically repair damaged road areas as soon as possible, Saunders said.

As for a longer-term fix, Saunders said that would come this summer.

“We will go out there and remove the top two or three, maybe four inches of highway, and then repave with a new asphalt surface,” Saunders said.

Sedgwick in her email questioned why UDOT did not repair the section of I-15 at the same time it fixed a nearby section closer to Tremonton last summer.

However, the department had not budgeted in a larger repair for this section until this summer, according to Saunders.

“A lot of our residents in the state think UDOT has this never-ending supply of money that we can just use whenever we want to, but all of our dollars are in specific pots that have to be used at specific times,” Saunders said. “That’s why we didn’t do that project last year when it seemed like it might have been more convenient to have it tied up altogether at one time, but there wasn’t funding at that time. So we’re going to do it this coming summer when the funding is there.”

Saunders urged drivers to be patient and attentive while passing through the area, and he welcomed them to report road problems they spot to UDOT.

Alan Swenson, a driver from Idaho who was on his way to Saratoga Springs and then St. George, was another to immediately notice the damage Monday.

“It’s almost not drive-able, especially in the driving lane or the right-hand lane. It’s terrible,” Swenson said. “As you get over in the other lane, you’re taking a risk with the trucks because they don’t want to drive on this stuff either.”

He expressed optimism that the problem would ultimately be fixed, noting that it would likely require a considerable amount of money and time.

“Just slow down,” Swenson said.

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