‘No idea off the table’ UDOT says about safety improvements to Ogden Canyon

OGDEN — Like many roads across Utah, the Utah Department of Transportation is working to make “much-needed safety improvements” in Ogden Canyon.

“It’s one of the oldest roads we have here,” said Mitch Shaw with UDOT.

Shaw said plans for construction on state Road 39 were scheduled within the last few years and officially began in mid-August. UDOT will install a centerline rumble strip between the two lanes of traffic, designed to alert drivers if they are drifting between lanes.

“If your tire hits the rumble strips, it makes a really loud sound,” Shaw said.

And new, sturdier barriers will be placed along the Ogden River.

“In recent years, we’ve had a lot of bigger trucks come up here, and they’ll knock the barrier off, into the river, and then subsequently, we’ll have to our crews come up here and a lot of time close the canyon,” he said.

Construction on the project began just weeks after a deadly crash that took the lives of two people in early July.

The Utah Highway Patrol said a bulldozer fell off a tow truck and onto an SUV with the victims inside. A petition was created shortly after asking UDOT to restrict large vehicles.

“I could just speak for myself. I’ve been in this position for three years now, and I haven’t heard from that many members of the community on any issue,” Shaw said.

Petition to make Ogden Canyon safer goes viral after crash leaves two dead

He added that UDOT is planning on hosting a public meeting within the next month or two to hear the drivers who signed that petition. While no official plans have been made as a result of that petition, Shaw said that right now, no ideas are off the table.

“This canyon area right now is kind of under a microscope,” Shaw said.

UDOT is asking people to drive cautiously as construction continues. The project is set to be complete in October. For updates and more information, you can go to UDOT’s website.