Proposed change for America's most avy-prone road
Resorts want fixes in slide-prone road
Little Cottonwood avalanche danger cited
By Joe Baird
The Salt Lake Tribune
2004-07-17 01:44:49.209
ALTA - Next-door neighbors atop Little Cottonwood Canyon for the past four decades, old-fashioned Alta and glitzy Snowbird might not seem to have much in common. But in fact, the two ski resorts share many interests - including a desire to make the most avalanche-prone road in North America safer.
On Friday, they called for a radical new approach in battling the avalanche hazards along Little Cottonwood Canyon Road - the only way to get in and out of the resorts in the winter.
Alta General Manager Onno Wieringa and Snowbird President Bob Bonar asked the Utah Transportation Commission to fund a study of alternatives for realigning a two-mile stretch in the middle of the canyon - essentially in and around the Tanners slide area - that has been particularly vulnerable to dangerous slides.
"What we're talking about is taking Little Cottonwood Canyon avalanche prevention to the next level," Wieringa told commissioners, who oversee funding for state road projects and met at Alta Friday.
Formally known as state Route 210, Little Cottonwood Canyon Road falls under the jurisdiction of the Utah Department of Transportation.
"In the past few years we've talked about avalanche sheds as a way to deal with this problem in the White Pine and Tanners areas," Wieringa continued. "But it's just recently that we've started to look at this in a broader and bigger way. Let's get a planner in to look at it, and plan a road that misses the [avalanche] chutes and will be less steep."
As it is, Bonar said, "the road is a nightmare. It's a problem for us. It's worked only because of the efforts of [UDOT]. There are a lot more close calls than any of you know about. It's something we really need to work on."
According to Wieringa, Little Cottonwood Canyon Road, with its 25 slide areas from top to bottom, ranks as the most dangerous road in North America when it comes to avalanche susceptibility - topping the Avalanche Hazard Index with a score of 766. By contrast, he said, neighboring Big Cottonwood Canyon Road rates a 151. British Columbia's Roger's Pass, which used to have a rating similar to Little Cottonwood's, has been downgraded to a 171 with the addition of avalanche sheds.
And Little Cottonwood's avalanche hazards continue to exist, he added, in a time when recreation pressure on the canyon and the road continues to mount. Thousands of skiers and employees fill both resorts daily at the peak of winter. Even in the summer, the ski areas play host to sizeable crowds.
That said, the Alta general manager acknowledged that any such rerouting of the road would be a "huge step."
For starters, an early, conceptual proposal for a realigned road south of the existing highway takes it right to, and in one short stretch over, the border of the Lone Peak Wilderness area. As proposed, the new portion of the road also would run much closer to Little Cottonwood Creek, which could bring watershed issues into play.
"Going into the wilderness area is a concern and moving the road closer to the water may solve one problem and create another," said Lisa Smith, executive director of the environmental group Save Our Canyons. "If moving the road down the hill and closer to the creek is a good idea, we're all for looking at it, but our hope is they will take an even broader look at it to address the safety issue and the capacity issue."
Such an undertaking in Little Cottonwood also would be expensive. UDOT Deputy Director Carlos Braceras told commissioners a quick, off-the-top-of-his-head cost estimate would be between $20 million and $40 million, using the long-running Provo Canyon road reconstruction project as a barometer.
Alta Mayor Bill Levitt considers it a small price to pay to solve a continuing problem that causes considerable delays and expense, and could have tragic consequences if it is not addressed.
"We wouldn't support anything that would be environmentally damaging," Levitt said. "At the same time, there are some clear issues we need to work through. You get to the point where you need to look at realities. We've reached that point."
jbaird@sltrib.com
