Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- UDOT plans safety upgrades and cellphone access in Logan Canyon, causing delays.
- Roger Miller highlights past accidents and the need for improved communication.
- Permanent signs, cameras, and traffic monitoring will enhance safety and convenience.
LOGAN — Some major construction delays in Logan Canyon are expected to bring significant safety improvements.
What happens up the canyon often isn't heard about right away.
Roger Miller drives in Logan Canyon often.
"I mean, we've had avalanches in the past up there, and you get stuck up the canyon, and it'd be nice if you could just, you know, drive around to Preston and stuff," Miller said.
Drivers like Miller have seen accidents along that 30-mile stretch between the mountains. Through a lot of the canyon, people can't call for help.
"If there's a crash up there, you know, people will be able to jump on their cellphone and call emergency services," region one spokesperson for UDOT, Mitch Shaw, said.
He said that's one of the major benefits that will come with that fiber line that will eventually run through the canyon, connecting Logan to Garden City. However, Shaw said the benefits will go beyond that.
"We'll be able to have signs up there and program them remotely so we don't have to go up there," Shaw said.
People in Logan Canyon will no longer have to wait for road crews to bring in a sign, warning of hazards ahead, like avalanches and crashes. Permanent, remotely programmable signs will be installed along with cameras and traffic monitoring, both accessible through the UDOT app and website.
"We'll make it safer. We'll make it much more convenient," Shaw said. "Anything we can do to provide a better experience for people traveling through that canyon, we want to do."
In the meantime, it will mean two traffic stops along the way, with wait times between five to 20 minutes each.
"It's going to be a pain for sure, getting that in, but yeah, I think it'll be worth it," Miller said.
