| Kathy Justice, president of the newly formed U.S. Highway 6 Improvement Corporation, points to a bumper sticker designed to highlight the need to complete projects to eliminate safety hazards on the roadway. |
The newly formed U.S. Highway 6 Improvement Corporation is striving for safety projects on the roadway.
“We are trying to increase awareness of the dangers in traveling SR-6. We had an idea to put up warning signs before people enter the canyon to make them aware they are traveling on a dangerous road, but there were too many legal formalities and it was too expensive. Then a friend of mine, Neal Peacock suggested we produce bumper stickers to put on cars that are frequently traveling the road, so a bumper sticker campaign has been started,” pointed out Kathy Justice, corporation president.
“We have designed two bumper stickers … The proceeds from the bumper stickers will go to the non-profit corporation for use in lobbying the legislature for SR-6 improvements and for educating the public. We want people to know what we’re doing. We believe the more awareness and publicity we can raise about this road will lead to more improvements,” continued Justice.
“We went with the British Broadcasting Company on a tour of the road. They have produced a documentary which will air on June 17 on the Discovery Channel. This program deals with the dangers of SR-6. Ironically the broadcasting company was almost involved in an accident in their van when they were almost driven off the road to avoid a head-on collision with a vehicle passing where it shouldn’t have been,” revealed the corporation president.
“People drive SR-6 like it is a freeway at freeway speeds. This road is not a freeway. It was not designed for the traffic load which it now carries. This is a very emotional issue for people who have lost loved ones on the road. Our organization is totally staffed by volunteers. I attended one of the Utah Department of Transportation meetings on SR-6 planned improvements and while there I had 200 signatures of people interested in banding with us. I get calls every time there is an accident on SR-6. Every time there is a near miss, I will hear about it. We need to keep this issue in the public eye. We are not going away until we have a four lane road through the entire canyon which might take a long time,” indicated Justice.
“UDOT also took the BBC up in a helicopter when they were here. They (UDOT) said they are doing all they can to improve the road. With recent improvements, the SR-6 accident and death toll has gone down, a statement that I am very happy to make, but we will press on for the safety of SR-6 travelers. I have been told that a four-lane highway would be a huge and expensive undertaking. It has been done in other places such as stretches of Provo Canyon. So I feel it is not an impossible dream,” continued Justice.
“The mayor of Spanish Fork has been very helpful. They have lost many community members as well to the road. They send their rescue teams up that canyon nearly every week to help with accidents,” added the corporation president.
“We will place bumper stickers in Emery and Carbon counties as well as in Spanish Fork. We plan on creating a website to give more information on our mission and activities,” pointed out the corporation representative.
“We are just a group of concerned citizens bonding together to continue to improve this road. We will keep this mission alive. Call me for information on where to purchase the stickers at 687-2403,” concluded Justice.
The bumper stickers state: “I Drive Utah’s Highway 6, Pray for Me” and “I Survived Utah’s Highway 6. Thank you.”