×
×
homepage logo
SUBSCRIBE

Weber County officials call for attention to US 89 here, too

By Tim Vandenack standard-Examiner - | Sep 15, 2020
1 / 2

U.S. 89 heading north in Uintah toward South Ogden is pictured in September 2020. 

2 / 2
U.S. 89 heading north in Uintah toward South Ogden. Some Weber County officials say the roadway in the area needs upgrades to contend with traffic.

UINTAH — With U.S. 89 getting a massive upgrade through most of Davis County, Uintah Mayor Gordon Cutler wonders what will come of traffic traversing the U.S. 89 section just to the north into Uintah and Weber County.

“If it stays the way it is,” he said, alluding to the U.S. 89 section north of Interstate 84 in Uintah that climbs a steep hill into South Ogden, “there’s always going to be backups.”

Weber County Commissioner Scott Jenkins, among the proponents for improvements to the road segment, has stronger words. “It’s terrible,” he said of the U.S. 89 segment just north of the Davis County line. “I think it’s the worst congestion in the whole county.”

U.S. 89 is the focus of an ongoing $489 million upgrade from Farmington to State Route 193 in Layton in northern Davis County to alleviate congestion. The road is to be widened from two to three lanes going each way and interchanges and bridges are to be added at several intersections to reduce the need for stop lights and to smooth and speed traffic flow.

Further north into Weber County, though, some worry about a traffic bottleneck as northbound autos cross from the upgraded portion of U.S. 89 in Davis County, once complete in 2023. Currently, according to Cutler, northbound autos approaching the county line back up to S.R. 193 on some afternoons while southbound autos backup from the I-84 interchange to Skyline Road in South Ogden. “Every night, traffic is backed up,” he said.

Image supplied, Utah Department of Transportation

The map shows U.S. 89 traversing northwesterly through Uintah into South Ogden, a road section some Weber County officials say needs additional attention. Interstate 84 goes from east to west at the bottom of the image.

Jenkins also singled out the U.S. 89-Combe Road section as problematic and dangerous, particularly for autos turning left from Combe Road onto U.S. 89. U.S. 89 heading north from the Davis County line is a steep roadway, passing under two railroad bridges and a pipeline.

“It’s very, very dangerous,” Jenkins said. UDOT officials say current traffic counts don’t merit major upgrades, he went on, though they’re approaching the threshold to justify improvements.

The Utah Department of Transportation completed a concept study looking at issues and possible upgrades to the I-84-U.S. 89 intersection, north of the endpoint of the ongoing U.S. 89 upgrade project. Whatever the case, Matt Dixon, the South Ogden city manager, notes that public discussion of possible upgrades has been limited. “There just hasn’t been a lot of information out yet,” Dixon said.

UDOT spokesperson Zach Whitney said he expects relatively smooth traffic flow on U.S. 89 between S.R. 193 and I-84, even if it’s not part of the U.S. 89 upgrade. That section was to have been improved as well as part of the original U.S. 89 project, but due to changes in project parameters and limited resources, it was removed. Still, local officials apparently aren’t off base in their worries about U.S. 89 traffic flow in Weber County, and he anticipates traffic issues at the busy I-84-U.S. 89 crossing.

“That is something we’re aware of and that is something we’re planning for,” Whitney said. “The big issue here is funding.”

Indeed, any fix comes with a price tag and Cutler, too, acknowledges restraints stemming from the lack of resources. “It needs to be said, too — UDOT is doing the best they can,” he said.

But that doesn’t change the fact that leaders are mindful of the need for change. “We’ve pushed UDOT really hard to do something there,” Jenkins said.

How exactly to address traffic flow issues remains a focus of debate, but complicating things are the two railroad bridges and pipeline over U.S. 89 north of I-84, which would potentially hamper efforts to widen U.S. 89 there. “Railroad bridges are structurally sound, but too narrow for the widening required to serve future capacity,” reads the UDOT concept study into the I-84-U.S. 89 intersection.

TIM VANDENACK, Standard-Examiner

U.S. 89 heading north in Uintah toward South Ogden. Some Weber County officials say the roadway in the area needs upgrades to contend with traffic.

The study, completed two to three years ago, according to Whitney, contains numerous concepts to address traffic flow north of I-84. Some entail fairly radical change, with the creation of new roadways and traffic corridors that bypass the existing I-84-U.S. 89 intersection. Still, nothing is set in stone and any change would be the focus of plenty of discussion and debate, Whitney said.

U.S. 89 further to the north in Weber County also received a facelift. The roadway from Harrison Boulevard to 40th Street in South Ogden was resurfaced as part of a $3.2 million UDOT project that is in the finishing stages. The U.S. 89-Harrison Boulevard crossing in South Ogden was the focus of a prior upgrade that finished in late 2019.

Newsletter

Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter.

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)