Sinkhole causes 'pretty significant backing' on southbound I-15 near Sunset

SUNSET — A sinkhole on southbound I-15 near Sunset has forced the closure of two lanes of traffic, causing delays in Davis and Weber counties Friday.

The sinkhole was reported at mile marker 339, the freeway's junction with Riverdale Road, sometime before 8 a.m., when the Utah Department of Transportation began formal lane closures.

"That section of I-15 was down to three lanes anyway because of our 5600 South project going on right now. What happened this morning is two lanes of traffic were closed right during rush hour," said Mitch Shaw, UDOT spokesman. "That's not a good formula for flow of traffic. We saw some pretty significant backing and delays of about 30 minutes."

Southbound lane closures start about two miles north of the road damage, in Roy. Only one lane is open, with traffic backing up as far north as about 21st Street in Ogden, at one point.

I feel for those of you traveling south on I-15 near Ogden. There's a sinkhole on I-15 near Sunset that has traffic down to one lane. We're heading north on another story and noticed the traffic starts backing up at about 21st Street in Ogden. @KSL5TV@KSLTrafficpic.twitter.com/Q07amIGzIS

— Alex Cabrero (@KSL_AlexCabrero) May 16, 2025

Shaw added that UDOT dealt with a sinkhole in the same area last year. "The road base is kind of deteriorating. We had fixed this area before ... and it just kind of showed up again today," he said, adding that rain can contribute to the deterioration.

To completely fix the issue, Shaw said UDOT would have to shut the interstate down entirely, something the department isn't willing to do at the time. Instead, UDOT is looking to this summer for a more permanent fix.

"It's basically going to take more digging, down to really get at the problem but if we were to do that now we'd have to close the freeway down entirely, and we don't want to do that," Shaw said.

Early on in the closure, Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Cam Roden said it would likely take several hours for UDOT crews to repair the damage. UDOT's traffic website indicates that crews anticipate reopening all lanes to traffic by 5 p.m. Friday.

Residual traffic in the area was visible around 6 p.m.

"Safety is the first priority when it comes to stuff like this. We try to get out there and close off the lanes and make the repairs as soon as possible," Shaw said.

Related topics