Maggie's Bend is sporting a new look for summer.
Involving portions of southbound U-156, northbound U-214 and two Spanish Fork access roads, Maggie's Bend has been a constant worry for south county residents like Bruce Mendenhall, who travels the road daily. According to Mendenhall, the bend has caused too many serious injuries, including three head-on collisions during 1990 alone.Now, Mendenhall and others might have some room to breathe easier. A joint project involving the Utah Department of Transportation, Utah County and Spanish Fork has eliminated a large section of the bend - in particular, the stretch between Child's Road and Expressway Lane - by closing it off and installing stop signs on access roads. Additionally, Expressway Lane now allows access off southbound U-156, while Child's Road will provide access onto southbound U-156 until it intersects with U-214.
The three entities completed the construction on the intersection recently and held ribbon-cutting ceremonies Wednesday afternoon to mark the end of the safety problem.
County Engineer Clyde Naylor said the improvements come on the heels of months of public hearings and meetings concerning the Maggie's Bend intersection.
"Over a two-year period, we held several meetings with residents and relatives of those who have been involved in accidents," Naylor said. "We think that what we've come up with is a good solution."
As far as each entity's part, Spanish Fork provided the right-of-ways to make the new road construction and paid part of the paving costs, Utah County built the piece of road connecting Expressway Lane and U-214 and also the piece straightening and modifying Child's Road, and UDOT performed the work that closed the portion of U-156. Utah County paid $40,000 for its part, while the Spanish Fork and UDOT costs were not available.
Spanish Fork City Administrator Dave Oyler said the city got involved in the construction because of the safety concerns and that the reason the project has taken so long is that officials have been working out the best and safest construction alternative for traffic.
For southern Springville and Mapleton residents, Maggie's Bend provides the quickest access to Spanish Fork's north end, including the Expressway Shopping Center, and vice versa. It had presented a hazard because Child's Road, an access coming off Expressway Lane, curved and merged into U-156, while an intersection between U-156 and U-214 had motorists heading blindly toward the Child's Road intersection.
The construction resolves Mendenhall's two-year struggle to get improvements made on the bend. The Mapleton resident said that up until this year "all we've ever received are promises that officials are studying the problem."
After receiving word that officials were working on the intersection, Mendenhall and other residents suggested that UDOT install barricades at strategic spots as a stopgap. UDOT officials, though, said that would create liability problems.