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Show Highway 89 fatalities four times the average By GARY R. BLODGETT FRUIT HEIGHTS U.S. Highway High-way 89 between Farmington and Ogden has a fatality rate four times greater than expected for this type of road, according to results of a recent independent study of highway high-way conditions along the 10-mile stretch. The study also revealed that 40 percent of the highway accidents on this stretch of highway involved vehicles crossing the busy highway. high-way. Many other accidents involved in-volved vehicles making left turns onto and off the highway. The study, conducted by a Mid-vale, Mid-vale, Utah firm, also showed some startling results involving accidents. acci-dents. They include: The highway has an average daily vehicle flow of 23,000 including in-cluding a large number of heavy trucks. More than one-third (34 percent) per-cent) of all accidents on the highway high-way happen at night. The daily average of traffic flow is about 60 percent of what 1-15 carries through Davis County per day. Animals caused 16 percent of all accidents and the stretch of highway high-way is one of the worst in Utah for animal-related accidents. The average speed on the highway is 61 miles per hour. This is six miles per hour above the posted post-ed speed of 55 miles per hour. Utah Transit Authority buses make nine stops along the busy highway. Winter traffic is extremely hazardous because there is no raised divider along the four-lane highway and the road slopes to the downhill (west) side along much of the highway. The study also noted that there has been a heavy growth of residential resi-dential and commercial development develop-ment along both sides of the highway high-way since the road was widened several years ago and study consultants consul-tants believe that this has had a tremendous impact on the traffic in recent years. O CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE Hwy, 89 evaluated i CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE ! A citizens' group earlier recommended recom-mended that an interchange con-Xr: con-Xr: necting Interstate 84 with Inter- state 15 be constructed to relieve 5 the State Highway (89) of heavy S truck and trailer traffic. Presently, K loaded trucks of all sizes turn left from 1-84 onto U.S. 89 and follow the "Mountain Road" until it con-S con-S nects with 1-15 at Farmington Junc-X, Junc-X, tion. "Nearly all of the north and southbound traffic out of Salt Lake T. City to intersect with 1-84, the main 5 highway east out of Utah, will use ; State Highway 89," the report J: showed. Interstate 15 skirts Ogden several miles to the west while Highway 89 and 1-84 intersect at the Weber River in South Weber. Since the buildup of residential and commercial structures along the highway, there are now 125 roads and driveways intersecting with Highway 89 between Farming-ton Farming-ton Junction and Harrison Boulevard Boule-vard in South Ogden, the report indicates. in-dicates. Citizens' groups are continuing to meet and make recommendations recommenda-tions for the improvement of Highway High-way 89. The study firm said it would cost approximately $10 million mil-lion to build an interchange; $400,000 a mile to improve frontage roads; and $100,000 for each traffic light installed along the highway. |