- UDOT will install wire mesh on a rock wall along state Route 158 to augment road safety.
- The project stemmed from the fall of a boulder from the rock wall through the windshield of a passing truck in 2018, which seriously injured a man.
- S.R. 158 in the section is to be fully closed for up to three weeks starting July 28
EDEN, Weber County — The Utah Department of Transportation will cover part of a rock wall abutting a key Ogden Valley highway with heavy wire mesh to guard against the possibility of a rockfall onto the roadway.
The planned operation starts next Monday, July 21, and comes more than six years after a boulder fell from the rock wall onto a passing pickup truck, crashing through the vehicle's windshield and seriously injuring a man inside.
That 2018 incident along state Route 158 east of the Pineview Dam spillway on the north side of Pineview Reservoir spurred debate about the safety of the roadway, leading to the looming plans, expected to require the full closure of the roadway for up to three weeks.
Utah has many roads that go through canyons and abut steep rock walls, and UDOT spokesman Mitch Shaw said rockfalls like the 2018 incident on a section of S.R. 158 south of Eden aren't common. "What I can tell you, though, is that whenever we have an area that is higher risk, we look at potential mitigation efforts. Sometimes it's not possible to do anything, just because of the sheer inaccessibility of a particular landscape. It's also difficult to predict exactly where it's going to happen," he said.
Prior incidents along S.R. 158, and a study indicating a mitigation project would help, spurred UDOT officials to pursue the $3 million project.
"We've looked at further realigning the road near the spillway, but it's virtually impossible with the landscape there — the dam and the mountain. UDOT looked at other options several years ago, and we'd really need a bridge across the dam, but that's not really a feasible option from a cost perspective, an environmental perspective or a public impact perspective," Shaw said.
Staging of the work area starts on Monday, July 21, with single lane closures on S.R. 158 in the area, necessitating flagging operations to guide motorists through the zone. The roadway is to be fully closed to traffic starting July 28 and lasting up to three weeks to allow the project to proceed, requiring motorists to detour.
A crane and helicopter will help mount the wire mesh fence along the rock wall adjacent to the westbound lane of S.R. 158, according to UDOT. The work is to be done by late August.
