LOGAN — Due to the Rick Springs Fire that partially closed Logan Canyon, US-89, this past week, a construction project has been rescheduled for this next week near Beaver Creek Lodge. The Utah Department of Transportation is urging motorists to plan ahead for the full closure of the canyon on Monday, July 28, and Tuesday, July 29, from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. on both nights.
Mitch Shaw, UDOT Senior Communications Manager, said the two night closure will allow road crews to complete several jobs at the same time.
“We are redoing the highway surface and we’re replacing some damaged signs and guardrail, but were also updating the drainage culverts,” explained Shaw. “The drainage system through the canyon is very important because of the geography and the water running off of the mountainside. We need to be able to move water from underneath the roadway, and not have it interfere with the underlying road and not have it get onto the highway, where it creates all kinds of problems.”
The project was scheduled for last week but crews weren’t able to finish after firefighters closed the canyon to battle the Rick Springs Fire. The blaze started Tuesday along US-89 and scorched 26 acres on both sides of the highway.
Shaw recognized the impact of closing Logan Canyon, noting how they usually try to keep it open. However, since crews have to dig large culvert trenches all the way across the highway, officials didn’t see any other option than to close the road for two nights.
“Typically when we do a project,” said Shaw, “we at least like to have one lane open, which is what has happened a lot of the time this summer with the fiber project. There are places where we are working but have had one lane of traffic with alternating traffic going through. But, due to the nature of having to dig these trenches, it is going to require a full closure.”
Drivers traveling through the canyon have already been encountering slow traffic this summer, as crews have been installing fiber optic lines between Logan and Bear Lake. That has resulted in significant delays and one-way traffic at multiple locations. The project will again pause in the winter and is expected to be completed in the fall of 2026.
For anyone needing to travel to Bear Lake during the closure, there are several detours available but they are lengthy. Motorists can take the Monte Cristo Highway, US-39, from Huntsville to Woodruff. A second option is Emigration Canyon, US-36, in Idaho, from Riverdale to Ovid.
“The best thing to do is to just avoid the area if you can during that time,” stated Shaw. “So, if you can make your trip earlier, before 10 p.m. and then just figure it is going to be closed until 7 a.m. those mornings.”
Shaw expressed appreciation for motorist’s patience and cooperation with the culvert project. He noted how signs have been posted at the mouths of the canyon, near First Dam, and above Garden City, reminding drivers of the closure. There are also several message boards through the canyon.