SPANISH FORK CANYON — Helicopters, motorcycles, patrol cruisers and unmarked police cars greeted motorists on U.S. 6 Thursday morning as the Utah Highway Patrol kicked off a four-day saturation campaign aimed at reducing aggressive driving along this deadly stretch of road.
"Not a lot of warnings today," Col. Earl Morris told a group of brown-uniformed troopers before they hit the roadway shortly after sunrise.
The 135-mile section of U.S. 6 from the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon to Green River is often referred to as one of the deadliest stretches of road in Utah. Five people have died on that section of highway this year, 11 in 2001, 17 in 2000 and 13 in 1999.
"We've taken a little heat for not preventing these accidents," Morris told troopers. "Things are going to change from here on out."
UHP's saturation campaign, with about 30 troopers patrolling the area, will continue through Sunday. Increased patrols, to a smaller degree, will also continue after this weekend, Morris said.
Officials hope the heightened enforcement, combined with road improvement projects by the Utah Department of Transportation, will make U.S. 6 safer.
"Every time I take a trip, I've seen a miss or a near-miss," Sen. Mike Dmitrich, D-Price, told troopers Thursday morning.
"The bottom line on this highway is it's not big enough to handle all this traffic," Dmitrich said.
Despite several winding, two-lane stretches, UDOT and UHP officials say the problem isn't necessarily the road.
"If we had unlimited resources, all the money that we wanted to make improvements along U.S. 6, it won't help if motorists continue to break traffic laws by speeding and crossing the center line," UDOT spokesman Tom Hudachko said.
Indeed, three-fourths of the fatal accidents on U.S. 6 were caused by speeding or driving left of the center line, according to statistics compiled by UDOT. Also, 78 percent of the fatal crashes on U.S. 6 happened in daylight hours, 63 percent in dry conditions, UDOT reported.
Circling about 1,000 feet over the highway, with a clear blue sky stretched out in front of them, UHP helicopter pilot Steve Rugg and Lt. Mitch Ingersoll watch for cars passing over double yellow lines or following too close. When they spot a violator they radio the car's description to police cruisers patrolling the road below.
Rugg has flown similar missions along I-15 in Salt Lake County looking for aggressive drivers.
"We'd find about one an hour," Rugg said.
No such luck during the first hour of flight Thursday morning with light traffic. But come the weekend, the traffic usually thickens, testing drivers' patience.
"They get that pent-up desire to get going when they're following trucks," Ingersoll said.
Ingersoll and others hope the highly visible presence of troopers will cut back on many of the accidents. Similar campaigns along sections of I-15 have helped reduce accidents in Salt Lake, Weber and Utah counties.
A sign noting the increased enforcement greeted drivers at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon. UDOT plans to put up more signs along the road.
The increased visibility comes more than a month after UDOT and UHP held public hearings in Moab, Price and Spanish Fork to get input on how to spend an extra $13 million for improvements to U.S. 6. The money is left over from $80 million set aside from Utah's Centennial Highway Fund for improvements to U.S. 6. The fund originally was created to rebuild I-15 and paid for with money from the general fund as well as gas and other transportation taxes.
A study on those recommendations is expected to be completed by the fall and UDOT will start making recommendations by the end of the year, Hudachko said.
"Right now the options are ranging from realignments, to adding new shoulders, to installing barriers down the middle in certain places."
The five construction projects that will run over the spring, summer and fall include:
In April, UDOT began widening a 3-mile stretch of road just east of Castilla from four lanes to five lanes. The project is expected to be finished by September.
In June, resurfacing on the 25-mile stretch from Cedar Ridge to the railroad pass in Woodside will begin.
Also in June, crews will add a passing lane on the uphill side of the road along a 3-mile stretch at Sunnyside Junction southeast of Wellington.
Resurfacing will begin on two areas in June: the first, a 10-mile stretch from Skyview to White River and the second, a 17-mile stretch between Colton and Helper.
Starting in August a 5-mile stretch from Main Street in Wellington to Cat Canyon will be resurfaced.
E-mail: djensen@desnews.com