Pedestrian bridge over 5600 South in Roy brings added element of safety as corridor expands to accommodate growth
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- The newly opened Denver & Rio Grande Western Rail Trail pedestrian bridge over 5600 South, pictured Monday, Aug. 18, 2025.
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- People cross over the Denver & Rio Grande Western Rail Trail pedestrian bridge over 5600 South in Roy on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025.
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- A view of 5600 South in Roy looking west from the new pedestrian bridge on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Rail Trail, taken Monday, Aug. 18, 2025.
ROY — A new bridge over 5600 South (state Route 97) in Roy along the Denver & Rio Grande Western Rail Trail looks to be a boost to safety as it bridges a vital corridor currently in the middle of its ongoing expansion.
On Monday, to celebrate the opening of the pedestrian bridge, which is within a short walking distance of both Roy Elementary School and Roy Junior High School, the Utah Department of Transportation invited Roy residents — especially those students who will benefit most and their parents — to a small open house-style celebration on the north end of the bridge complete with food trucks and invitations to cross the newly opened structure.
UDOT Senior Communications Manager Mitch Shaw told the Standard-Examiner that the bridge is part of a much bigger project.
“It’s part of our 5600 South project the people are probably very familiar with if they’ve driven in this area at all,” he said. “We wanted to finish this before school started — and we did. … This is just a great way for kids to be able to safely cross the street. We’re also installing a HAWK beacon.”
According to the UDOT website, in addition to the new pedestrian bridge, the project encompassing 5600 South from Interstate 15 to 3500 West (S.R. 108) includes the construction of a new interchange with I-15, widening 5600 South to five lanes, interchange improvements, trail improvements and drainage improvements.
Roy Mayor Robert Dandoy told the Standard-Examiner it was a momentous day for the Roy community.
“It’s a wonderful experience,” he said. “As you can tell, we’ve got a major development taking place with the widening of 5600, and when you have a development like that where we’re now moving from three lanes to five lanes, increasing the speed somewhere close to 45 miles per hour, safety is everything. We’ve got an elementary school down the street and always been concerned since this project began. How are we going to make sure we protect those kids? This is a great achievement for that. There’s some other components that UDOT is putting in that’s going to help us with that.”
He noted that the 5600 South corridor is only going to keep getting busier as other communities in the area grow.
“Roy City, for the most part, is getting close to built out,” he said. “To the west — Hooper, West Haven, Clinton — they’re still growing, and guess what street they’re using to move back and forth moving east to west? This is an incredible facility for us to provide not only safety, but to literally move people traffic from north to south. You cannot find, in my opinion, a better way to express that than this incredible bridge that’s been put in here for us pedestrians and bikers. It’s a great day for us and we’re excited about it.”
Shaw said the new pedestrian bridge not only boosts pedestrian safety; it’s also a part of UDOT’s goals to diversify transportation options available to the public.
“With all the major projects we do, they have a component that allows people to travel in a way that’s not just in the car,” he said. “That’s kind of a focus for us across the whole department statewide. … If we’re going to combat all of this growth that we have, the transportation system has to be fine-tuned in all areas.”
Shaw said the 5600 project is set to wrap up in late 2026.
