Spanish Fork Canyon construction project aims to prevent deadly crashes

SPANISH FORK — Construction workers will be busy on U.S. Highway 6 in Spanish Fork Canyon over the next few months. Beginning Friday morning, traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction between Diamond Fork Road and the U.S. 89 junction as workers install a concrete barrier in the median. That project is expected to last until the end of the year, and officials said it has one specific goal. “This is to prevent some of those crossover crashes that you see,” said John Gleason, Utah Department of Transportation spokesperson. “You can just imagine how devastating those can be if you’ve got vehicles that are traveling in opposite directions at freeway speeds.”In Spanish Fork Canyon on Thursday evening, Chanel Nagaishi told KSL TV she often sees people driving well above posted speeds. “People will just pass me like I’m standing still,” she said. But Nagaishi isn’t just another driver with an opinion. She works at the hospital in Provo and used to help families of car crash victims. “I feel like the most frequented road that we received trauma patients from was U.S. 6,” she said. “I'm very glad to hear that they're taking some safety precautions because those were often really scary crashes.”

Deadly crashes

According to data from the Utah Highway Patrol, more than 20 people have died in crashes on a 42-mile stretch of U.S. 6 — starting at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon — since 2020. Last month, a motorcyclist traveling on the highway was killed when his bike collided with another vehicle. Gleason said the state has made improving U.S. 6 a priority. “It really is a continuation of the projects that we've had over the last two-plus decades,” Gleason said.Besides installing the new concrete barrier, workers will also improve lighting and fix drainage systems along that stretch of the highway. Other planned improvements for U.S. 6 are still in the design phase, Gleason added, with the goal of eventually making it a four-lane highway. Nagaishi is not an expert on roads, but she hopes this latest project will make a difference for safety. “I think anything to create separation would be useful,” she said.

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