Construction crews working along Valley View Highway, SR-30, Sept. 22, 2023. (Photo: Will Feelright)
LOGAN — Motorists travelling along Valley View Highway, SR-30, are going to want to plan ahead as construction crews again close a section of the road this weekend.
UDOT Senior Communications Manager Mitch Shaw said closure will begin at 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22 to Monday, Sept. 25, at 6 a.m.
“So, SR-30 will be totally closed from SR-23 to 3200 West,” said Shaw.
The closure will allow crews to replace drainage culverts that convey water from one side of the road to the other. Two similar closures may also be occurring in October.
Shaw said construction crews are continuing to make preparations for the major expansion of the highway that will primarily take place next year. He acknowledged the closure is an inconvenience, but said the weekend closure should be less of an impact than during the week.
“By closing the highway over the weekend, we’re trying to miss the main commute times but it is still going to be a pretty big impact for people,” explained Shaw.
A detour route has been established during the closure. It will take motorists south along 1000 West and onto US-89/91 out to Wellsville, before returning back along SR-23 to Valley View.
For smaller vehicles, a shorter route is suggested by driving north along 3200 West, to 3000 North, through Benson Marina, and then returning back along SR-23 to Valley View.
During the next several months, Shaw asked motorists to expect partial closures as well, when traffic can be stopped for several minutes.
“We will sometimes have to implement intermittent single-lane closures, where we will allow one direction of traffic to go through. When we have to do that during the day, we are trying to keep the closures to less than 5 minutes. At night, the closures could be around 15 minutes.”
This weekend’s closure is only part of a large scale project that began earlier this year to expand the highway. It includes increasing the width of the shoulder, widening bridges, improving drainage and the intersection of SR-23, along with adding a sidewalk and trail along the road.