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- Weber County is installing gates on the east and west ends of the North Ogden Divide to be able to close it to traffic in treacherous weather.
- County Commissioner Gage Froerer said the gates could be lowered during avalanches or when driving conditions are dangerous.
- The mountainous, 4.5-mile roadway connects North Ogden and the Liberty area in the Ogden Valley.
NORTH OGDEN — Weber County officials are installing gates on either end of the North Ogden Divide, enabling them to temporarily close the winding, mountainous roadway to traffic in the event of avalanches and treacherous winter weather.
Weber County Commissioner Gage Froerer said the preliminary work has started in the Liberty area on the Ogden Valley side of the roadway. The new gates there and on the western side of the 4.5-mile road section in North Ogden should be done within a month or so, weather permitting.
"It's safety," Froerer said, noting that the notion of gates has probably been a topic of discussion for the past five years. "We've had too many close calls in the past."
Avalanches aren't uncommon in the winter along the roadway, which abuts a steep, mountainous slope, and they've led to the temporary closure of the roadway in the past. But avalanches, requiring entry of heavy equipment to clear the narrow roadway of snow, wouldn't necessarily be the only time when the planned gates would have to be lowered to contain traffic. Dangerous weather conditions, slick roads, accidents and autos driving off the side of the roadway because of icy conditions or other factors could also trigger the use of gates. They'd be used on a temporary basis depending on conditions.
"There could be more than just one situation," Froerer said. Car drive-offs require heavy equipment to recover the vehicles, he said, and "we can't have people coming up and blocking it out."
The heavy equipment required to remove crashed cars or snow typically takes up the entire roadway, and when cars unexpectedly come upon such machinery, they typically have to turn around, a potentially dangerous maneuver. "It puts heavy rescue personnel in danger. It puts the public in danger," he said.
The North Ogden Divide is a county-maintained roadway, so county officials would make the call on when to lower the gates in consultation with the Utah Department of Transportation and other officials. The Liberty area on the east side of the roadway is in the new Ogden Valley city that's taking shape, and officials from the new locale could also have a say in the matter.
Jon Call, the North Ogden city attorney, hadn't heard of the gate plan, but it doesn't surprise him. "Last year, I think the divide was closed twice for avalanche clearing," Call said.
The gates are expected to cost the county around $10,000, Froerer estimates.
The Monte Cristo Highway in eastern Weber County, also known as state Route 39, closes permanently each winter because of its elevation and frequency of heavy snowfall. The North Ogden Divide would only close temporarily when conditions merit, according to Froerer.
