Safety of Ogden Canyon Road under investigation after fatal accident

OGDEN – Last Saturday’s fatal accident on Ogden Canyon Road is sparking a debate about the safety of the narrow, winding road, including the possibility of restricting commercial traffic on the stretch between Ogden and Pineview Reservoir.

The dangers on the 5-mile stretch of State Route 39, as it is officially known, have “grown exponentially” as traffic flow has increased over the years, said Todd Caron, a Huntsville resident. After the crash that killed Lifetime Products CEO Richard Hendrickson and his 16-year-old daughter Sally, he started an online petition calling for restrictions on commercial traffic on the state-maintained SR 39.

Weber County Commissioner Gage Froerer, who has driven the stretch almost daily for decades, suggested that state highway officials consider restrictions on the type of commercial vehicles that can use the road on summer weekends, when traffic flow is at its highest. Traffic is especially heavy on summer weekends and holidays, he said, as motorists travel between Ogden and the Pineview and Causey reservoirs, campgrounds and other Ogden Valley attractions.

Saturday’s crash occurred when a bulldozer somehow “disengaged” from the eastbound tow truck as the driver made a right turn and landed on the westbound pickup truck in which Hendrickson and his daughter were traveling, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety. State authorities released little new information while the investigation into the matter is ongoing. Three other occupants of Hendrickson’s vehicle, including the man’s wife and two of his children, survived.

“We’re investigating what the fuse was,” said Lt. Cameron Roden, spokesman for the Utah Highway Patrol, referring to how the bulldozer was attached to the tow truck. “It appears that whatever fuse it was, it failed.”

The safety of Ogden Canyon Road has been a subject of debate due to its nature. It runs parallel to the Ogden River through the narrow valley and is overshadowed by steep mountains on either side. But Mitch Shaw, spokesman for the Utah Department of Transportation, which maintains the roads, said SR 39 is safe to drive, although it has a 40 mph speed limit and some curves limit it to 30 mph.

“Like many canyon roads in the state, there are places where it is narrow and steep and where you have to negotiate curves. But if drivers drive according to conditions, obey the speed limit, etc., the road is safe,” he said.

Once the Utah Highway Patrol’s investigation into the crash is complete, UDOT will conduct its own investigation into the crash to see if there are any engineering changes the agency can make to prevent a repeat. “But we won’t know exactly what that means until the (Utah Highway Patrol’s) investigation is complete and we’ve done a thorough investigation,” Shaw said.

In any case, Utah could not enforce a complete ban on truck traffic on the road. “Due to state law, trucks cannot be completely banned from the canyon,” Shaw said.

Road signs warn drivers of the winding, narrow stretch of SR 39 as they enter the road from Ogden. Froerer, who lives in the Ogden Valley, said when he was a member of the Utah House of Representatives in the early to mid-2010s, UDOT conducted a study of possible safety improvements to the stretch and concluded the cost at the time would have been about $30 million to $40 million. Given the price tag and other road priorities, officials have rejected comprehensive improvements, Froerer said, although Shaw noted that the road has been the focus of bridge and barrier improvements in recent years.

“There are no easy answers,” Froerer said, citing the limitations of road expansion due to the Ogden River and the steep slopes on either side. Major changes, he said, could mean partially extending the road over the Ogden River or digging into the mountainside to make room for additional sections of road.

Three main roads lead to the Ogden Valley: SR 39, North Ogden Canyon Road between North Ogden and Liberty, and Trapper’s Loop Road, or SR 167, which runs over I-84 and Mountain Green. All have their drawbacks. North Ogden Canyon Road is a narrow, winding road through mountainous terrain that has a steep drop-off on its south side. Trapper’s Loop Road has steep sections where trucks have sometimes experienced brake failure, Huntsville Mayor Richard Sorensen said.

SR 39 is “the lesser of three evils,” Sorensen said.

Caron, who started the online petition, said he has seen large semi-trailers and other heavy trucks driving through Ogden Canyon. He did not name specific possible changes to the regulations, but said public safety, not just economics, must play a big role in developing roads in the Ogden Valley. The petition – which is intended to spark debate on the issue and bring focus to the road – had collected nearly 1,600 signatures as of Monday afternoon.