Road closures planned as UDOT begins Pineview Dam rockfall mitigation project

WEBER COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — SR-158 at Pineview Dam will close beginning Monday, July 28 as UDOT begins a project intended to improve rockfall mitigation in order to protect motorists from loose falling rocks.

Construction began Monday July 21, but for this first week of construction, only one lane will be closed. UDOT is warning of light delays between 5-10 minutes during work hours (from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.). The road will be open for Pioneer Day on July 24 and 25.

Beginning on July 28 and continuing for up to three weeks, there will be a full closure (all lanes, day and night) on SR-158 to install rockfall protection. The project is expected to be completed in late August.

Mitch Shaw with UDOT told ABC4.com that the good thing about this project is that it will be able to be completed fairly quickly, but, because they will be using a lot of equipment, it is going to require full closure of the road.

The work being done is going to use a crane and a helicopter in order to mount a draped wire mesh fence along the rock wall and secure the mesh on the concrete barrier of the westbound lane.

“Basically, it makes it so that if a rock were to come loose over there, it wouldn’t come down and hit a vehicle, which has happened before,” Shaw said. He added that this is a unique project because they will be using a helicopter.

UDOT is advising drivers to detour around the reservoir using 1900 N (Eden) and 7800 E (Huntsville) to reach SR-139 and Ogden Canyon Road.

“There’s certain areas where our options are very limited, but this is a place where we, you know, we have determined that this is something that could really work, and if we can prevent big rocks from falling on the road, obviously that’s something we want to do,” Shaw explained.