BEAVER, Utah (ABC4) — In July, a devastating flash flood swept through Beaver Canyon, destroying 17 miles of roadway on SR-153.On Monday, the Utah Department of Transportation provided an update on the recovery process and what the next steps on emergency repair look like.According to Devin Squire, project manager for UDOT Region 4, it looks a lot better now than it did before.“We have been doing a lot of work,” he said. “There are a lot of challenges that our crews face.”...
BEAVER, Utah (ABC4) — In July, a devastating flash flood swept through Beaver Canyon, destroying 17 miles of roadway on SR-153.
On Monday, the Utah Department of Transportation provided an update on the recovery process and what the next steps on emergency repair look like.
According to Devin Squire, project manager for UDOT Region 4, it looks a lot better now than it did before.
“We have been doing a lot of work,” he said. “There are a lot of challenges that our crews face.”
There are 17 miles of damaged road in the canyon, five or six of which are completely gone, requiring a full road replacement.
Squire said that the number one priority at this time is providing access to Kent’s Lake Road for the people who own property that cannot be reached.
“Our intent is to provide that access. We’re hoping to do that beginning of October for people who need to get up there.”
Squire said this is not an open invitation, but rather an opening for property owners needing access to their land before winter.
What is happening now?
From there, UDOT’s goal is to stabilize the road to ensure that the winter does not further destroy the road. Although Squire said he is hoping for rain for the sake of the state, he hopes that any precipitation we do get, comes down slowly.
According to Squire, there is no definitive timeline that can be given on this project due to the uncertainty as to what the project will entail.
“If the road washes out more, our timeline lengthens significantly,” said Squire.
He continued saying that there are several other variables that could extend their predicted completion timeline.
“We don’t know how the road has been affected beneath the surface,” he said. “Our geotechnical engineers need to go up there and they need to drill samples, and our hydrologists need to tell us how big the culverts and the bridges and whatever else we put up there need to be.”
All of this is being done in tandem with the emergency repair work taking place in the canyon.
When winter comes
“We anticipate closing the canyon as soon as the snow flies,” said Squire.
UDOT has no way of keeping the road open for the public or their crews to access, and as Beaver Canyon is known to harbor a fair amount of snow, the road will be shut down for the winter.
The road will remain closed through the winter and will re-open for repairs once the snow melts.