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UTAH COUNTY -- Changes are coming to U.S. Highway 189 in Provo Canyon: The Utah Department of Transportation is changing the speed limit through the entire canyon.
UDOT says the change is happening mostly for consistency. Some areas of the canyon are set at 50 miles per hour, while others are at 60 mph. But from now on, drivers can count on the same speed limit of 55 mph through the canyon.
U.S. 189 is the main route between Utah and Wasatch counties and the link between communities in Eastern Utah and the Wasatch Front. It is also a very popular road for recreation areas, as boats and RVs are frequently seen on the highway.
Major road work on the canyon was finished last year, but there are still some areas where the road goes from two lanes to one lane in each direction, and inconsistencies in the speed limit signs are obvious. For example, on one side of the tunnel near Sundance the speed limit shows 50, while the other direction of traffic at the tunnel is posted at 60 miles per hour.
UDOT says it really wants drivers to be careful while driving in the winding canyon. "We always encourage people, when they are driving through any of those canyon roads, to please take heed to the speed-limit signs and be aware of your speed through those canyons, because a lot of time accidents, especially during this time of the year, it is because people are going faster than they should be through those winding canyon roads. So, we encourage people to be safe and abide by the speed limit," said UDOT spokesman Scott Thompson.
UDOT also believes the change will help drivers maintain the speed limit, as law enforcement officers say drivers they had pulled over often were uncertain what the speed limit actually was.
Crews will begin changing all of the signs in the canyon to 55 mph in the next couple of weeks. The actual change to the speed limit will happen as those signs are posted.
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com
