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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Transportation is starting a new pilot program to help reduce response times for emergency crews rushing to drivers who need help.
The signs will make it easier for drivers to identify where they are along the road when calling for aid.
"We're trying to do whatever we can to reduce traffic crashes and injuries and fatalities," said Glenn Blackwelder, UDOT operations engineer for traffic and safety.
Over the next two weeks, work crews will install 692 blue signs in three different sections of the Salt Lake Valley: Bangerter and I-80, I-80 and I-215 ramps, and the area known as the Spaghetti Bowl.
"People would crash and they would be disoriented and wouldn't know where they were,” Blackwelder said.
Emergency dispatchers on the other end of the line did not know either.
“A lot of times, people don’t know where they’re at,” said Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Todd Royce. Dispatchers must send first responders anyway.
"They would go by and say, ‘Well we're on the ramp. We can see the crash.’ They would actually have to cancel that call and redispatch because it took so long to turn around in the Spaghetti Bowl," Blackwelder explained.
"There have been times we've had serious crashes where people don't know where they're at, and so it potentially sends us to the wrong areas," Royce said. That can cost emergency responders 10 or 15 minutes of critical time.
They are installing the signs on feeder ramps in the Spaghetti Bowl connecting I-15, I-80 and state route 201. “We’ve got a lot of long ramps in there,” Blackwelder said.
Signs will also go up on ramps connecting Bangerter Highway with I-80 and North Temple, and the I-15 ramps at 500 South and 600 South. All signs should be installed by Feb. 15.
“There is a backside to the sign that has ‘wrong way’ on it as well,” Blackwelder said, in case the driver is facing the wrong way. The signs will be placed every 10th of a mile. The signs use a unique three-letter labeling system. The first letter represents the county, the second stands for the interchange and the third represents the ramp. A 911 operator will understand the three-line code identifying the ramp and distance on the ramp and send appropriate units to the right location.
Faster response also means that accidents and stalled cars will be cleared faster, reducing delays in the area.
"This will help that dramatically,” Royce said. “People will just be able to look at that sign, give the indicators that are on that side, and then we can get our troopers right there."
The pilot program costs $500,000. If it works well, they'll add more of these signs across the state where it makes sense.
Contributing: Viviane Vo-Duc
