Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Jed Boal ReportingThroughout the winter driving conditions in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons often catch drivers by surprise. Yesterday more than a half-dozen drivers crashed their cars in Big Cottonwood Canyon, on seemingly dry roads.
The Utah Department of Transportation has plans to improve safety. Driver awareness and responsibility are the simplest solutions to the problem, but UDOT recently completed a study that gives it target areas for safety improvements.
Salt Lake County canyon patrol scrambled yesterday as more than a half-dozen drivers crashed their cars in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
Dep. Paul Barker, Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office: "Just going too fast, speed too fast for the conditions in the canyon."
Two cars slid over the edge and tumbled to the creek in two separate crashes. Amazingly, there were no serious injuries.
In 2005, there were more than 100 crashes. Big Cottonwood had one fatality, both had 25 injury crashes, and snow or ice was on the road in about one-quarter of the crashes.
Nile Easton, UDOT: "The speed limit in that canyon is 40, 45 miles per hour. We see that speed averaging close to 50, 55 on warm days."
UDOT spent 80-thousand dollars in recent years to study the safety of the roads in Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons.
Nile Easton: "We had certain areas that definitely needed guardrails. We'll start at the mouth of the canyon and work our way up."
UDOT discovered most crashes occur within the first mile of the mouths of the canyons. That's where traffic volume is highest and motorists drive faster.
Nile Easton: "We also had some areas that could use some widening to allow better access for bicyclists and safety access if there are problems, and to give people room to pull off."
UDOT will phase in safety improvements, starting this summer with 350-thousand dollars for guardrails and wider shoulders near the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon.
Nile Easton: "The study identified over ten years' worth of improvements, so it's going to be a long process. We'll be doing something every year to keep making improvements to the canyon."
To keep black ice in check UDOT salts the canyons several times a day all winter long, even when it's not snowing. Eighty-four-hundred tons of salt in the winter at a cost of 800-thousand dollars.
