Of the head-on collisions that occurred near Heber City on U.S. 40 this year, almost 10 were serious injuries or multiple fatalities. A middle barrier might have mitigated that number, according to the Utah Department of Transportation.
One accident, involving a Dodge Ram and a Ford F-150 heading in opposite directions, resulted in the death of Juan Gambino, 36, of Riverton. In October, an unrestrained 3 year old was ejected and killed along with an unrestrained woman driving a Volkswagen Passat that crossed the center line on the same highway. In November, five patients were taken to local hospitals in critical condition after a similar collision.
These types of crashes have increased in tandem with Wasatch County’s rising population, which has been exponential in recent years. Heber City alone has seen a population rise of 12 percent since the most recent census in 2020.
City leaders have been pushing for a bypass route to direct traffic away from downtown for more than three years. U.S. 40, which runs through Heber City’s main street, has become increasingly congested, prompting safety concerns from community members. Two individuals — a teen girl and 17-year-old boy — were hit by cars driving on Main and Center Street in June and November.
UDOT has delayed the implementation of a bypass multiple times in the past three years. In October, leaders revealed that the decision had taken so long that none of its five bypass route proposals could then meet Wasatch County’s needs without making changes. The required Environmental Impact Statement is still in progress and scheduled to be finalized by 2025. Craig Hancock, UDOT regional project director, said that a final decision could be made by 2026.
UDOT’s budget, which has been finalized for project funding through 2030, includes costs for the Environmental Impact Statement but not the bypass route itself.
In lieu of a final decision on that front, UDOT’s Eric Rasband brought a safety measure to the table that could curb auto accident frequency and concerns. Here’s what he proposed to the Heber City Council and Wasatch County Council: a 42-inch constant-slope barrier along U.S. 40 from the River Road intersection to E 1200 N St, next to the Back 40 Ranch House Grill.
Heber City Council unanimously approved Rasband’s U.S. 40 safety measure. In Wasatch County, the vote was 4-3 in favor of UDOT’s solution.
Rasband said that between 2019 and 2022, there were seven car crashes and 11 serious injuries that could have been reduced or prevented with this kind of barrier in place.
Theoretically, he said that this middle barrier could reduce crossover crashes by 80%.
“If we could avoid 80% of those crashes with this investment, basically 11 people would have a better quality of life and, potentially, one person would still be alive,” Rasband said.
Crossover crashes, where vehicles travel over the median line and cause head-on collisions, are becoming more common along U.S. 40 both north and south of Heber City.
Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Bryce Rowser, who works out of Heber, said these accidents usually occur at high speeds and due to drunk, drowsy or distracted driving.
“When somebody crosses over and takes another car head-on, those are the most violent collisions that we respond to,” Rowser said. “The boom in Wasatch County has seen in population means we are seeing a lot more traffic on the roadways, and a lot more traffic on the roadways leads to more crashes that we respond to.”
Rowser said that while there has been an increase in traffic, Highway Patrol staffing numbers have stayed the same. That makes it more difficult to respond to crashes and do proactive enforcement.
“Proactive enforcement is how we bring those number of crashes down,” Rowser said.
Rasband said that UDOT’s proposal to install a middle-highway barrier provides better protection, specifically for larger and heavier vehicles. And, this isn’t the first time UDOT has implemented this kind of solution in high-traffic areas.
In Provo Canyon specifically, with drivers heading to and from areas like Deer Creek Reservoir and Sundance, a similar barrier has been in place for more than 20 years. Rasband said that this has prevented crashes in general but especially crossover collisions.
“I think it’s going to make the Highway 40 corridor safer,” Heber City Councilor Scott Phillips said. “I think also, though, it’s going to drive people further east to take Valley Hills Boulevard as a way to come south. So that could be a good thing as far as people redirecting traffic off of Highway 40.”
Wasatch County Councilor Kendall Crittenden, who voted for the measure at a council meeting Dec. 4, believes the split vote was due to concerns for access. With ongoing discussions for a new fire station along that stretch of U.S. 40 and access to neighborhoods, Wasatch County councilors were not convinced that the opportunity to make U-turns at certain junctions would be enough.
“There was also some question on how long it’ll last,” Councilor Crittenden said. “If the bypass ends up going down that route, which we hope it will, then it’ll only last for a few years.”
Of UDOT’s five proposed bypass routes, three would involve using that same stretch on U.S. 40. But Rasband and Crittenden said it would be a worthwhile project even if it only lasts a few years.
“Even if we got five to six years of benefit out of this investment, it would be worth it moving forward,” Rasband said.