Concerns over Eagle Mountain road safety after three-car crash
Oct 10, 2023, 2:21 PM | Updated: Oct 11, 2023, 9:59 am
EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Utah — Concerns about road safety in Eagle Mountain are rising after a crash involving three cars on Saturday. Three people were hospitalized after the crash on Eagle Mountain Highway.
The crash happened after a driver drifted into oncoming traffic on Cory Wride Memorial Highway, or State Road 73. Utah County Sheriff Sgt. Spencer Cannon told KSL NewsRadio that since August of 2022, there have been 119 crashes reported on that highway.
The highway is in one of Utah’s fastest-growing communities and accidents on the road have spurred safety concerns. Cory Wride Memorial Highway stretches from I-15, through Lehi and Saratoga Springs, and into Eagle Mountain.
“Years ago, it was just a single-lane country road,” Cannon said.
Now, it’s a busy double-lane highway.
Cannon told KSL NewsRadio that between Aug. 31, 2022 and Oct. 9, 2023 there have been 119 crashes on that stretch of highway. That is an average of about 9 crashes per month for that period of time. One crash was a double fatal road rage crash, in June 2023.
Two ways into and out of Eagle Mountain
There are two main arteries out of Eagle Mountain: Corey Wride Highway and Pony Express Parkway.
“Most people who live in Eagle Mountain work outside of Eagle Mountain, so there’s a lot of traffic morning and afternoon and on weekends,” Cannon said.
Cannon said city officials are working with the Utah Department of Transportation and the Utah County Sheriff’s Office to evaluate the road. They are thinking of ways to improve driver safety. But, funding and conducting studies to determine how best to do that take time.
Some suggestions are a raised median or a jersey-style barrier, which is a sloped steel-reinforced concrete barrier, in the middle of the highway.
“We’re glad to have suggestions and ideas from citizens as well,” Cannon said. “We’re happy to look at all those options.”
