On my way up to work this morning, just before entering Spanish Fork Canyon, I saw about 15 UHP patrol cars, 7 or 8 UHP motorcycles, 2 UHP helicopters, and a Fox 13 satellite truck, all parked on a wide, paved spot along the side of the road. I about shit my pants because I was doing almost 10 over the speed limit when I saw them, but it’s hard to miss that many cops from any distance, so I had plenty of time to get slowed down.
My mom ICQed me telling me that she saw on the news this morning that they were beefing up their patrols between Spanish Fork and Price, supposedly because there have been four deaths in the past month on that stretch. But there’s a long stretch of road where they’re tearing down some hills and widening the road to four lanes, so the extra revenue from ticketing speeders in a construction zone is probably a big factor as well (the biggest, I’m sure).
I also noticed the new CCTV cameras they’ve installed along the way. There’s one in Helper just before entering Price Canyon, another just a few miles away near the turnoff to Indian Canyon, and a third about halfway between Soldier Summit and Tucker. I hope they put more than just those up–one near the Red Narrows and another at Billie’s Mountain would be helpful. I think they’re supposed to be operational be June sometime, so I’ll be able to check Utah Commuter Link this winter to see what road conditions are like before I decide whether or not I want to drive up to work.
Update: Here‘s a news article about the UHP’s “saturation” patrol, which will continue through the weekend. (That link may not work in the future–I don’t know how long KSL archives their stories.)