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Show UDOT expresses concern over highway flooding Officials of the Utah Deparl ment of Transportation Tran-sportation are becoming increasingly concerned over irrigation water ponding on highways and the consequent road damage suffered by the highways due to the standing water. Several factors contribute con-tribute to this situation, including waste water from adjoining fields, poorly . maintained irrigation ditches and some sprinkling systems. Water, when allowed to pond against the road bed, eventually saturates the road's subgrade and results in costly maintenance main-tenance treatments and potential pavement failure. It's also possible that wet and saturated roadsides can increase severity of the single vehicle "running off the road" type accients. Sprinkling systems which spray onto the highway are also of ' growing concern to UDOT, because unsuspecting un-suspecting motorists can be suprised and take emergency action to avoid the spray of water, tnerby creating a safety hazard. In cold weather erratic sprinkling patterns pat-terns can also cause ice tormations on road surfaces, leading to still another safety problem. During relatively dry years, when water is scarce and conservation is a concern, the situation is greatly reduced as land owners control the irrigation water. However, when water is in great abundance in Utah, as is true this year, the problem is compounded. com-pounded. "Highway engineers have been deeply concerned con-cerned about this problem for many years,"' says UDOT District Three Director Howard Richardson. "Especially now that highway revenues have become so scarce, it's importnat that we do all we possibley can to protect the people's investment in-vestment in the State Highway System." Several years ago the problem was addressed by the State Legislature which enacted laws to safeguard the , highway system and enhance highway safety for the user. Current law sates: "Any person who willfully or carelessly obstructs or injures any public highway by causing or permitting flow or seepage of water, or who willfully or carelessly permits water, or who willfully or carelessly permits water under his control to escape in any manner so as . to injure any such highway, and any person who willfully or carelessly places or leaves, or causes to be placed or left, anything upon any such highway in such a way as-to obstruct travel or to endanger property or person passing upon such a highway, high-way, is guilty of a misdemeanor." In light of the need to protect our State's highways, high-ways, transportation and law enforcement agencies agen-cies are expected to make a coordinated effort to reduce the amount of waterflow onto highway rights-of-way. |