Mudslide closes road through Spanish Fork Canyon

SPANISH FORK CANYON — Cleaning up a mudslide that has shut down U.S. 6 in Spanish Fork Canyon is going to be a lengthy project, officials said.

"It could be midnight, 9 p.m. I don't know," said Adan Carillo, spokesman for the Utah Department of Transportation. "But ...it's more of a long-term closure and they'll work until it's back open."

Heavy rain in the southeast part of the state pushed construction area dirt and concrete barriers onto the road near mile marker 217 and the Scofield turnoff, shutting down both lanes and preventing travel to southern Utah.

Most of the mud and barriers have been moved, but the heavy rain is the problem now, Carillo said.

"It's still raining so bad," he said. "They're having some challenges in controlling all that water flow that's coming down."

He said crews are dealing with several different water problems within a 400-foot area and are trying to divert water into a pipe in one area, and they've brought in a pump to another area.

"(Now) it's just controlling the water flow, making sure they're getting the most of the moisture out of those areas so it doesn't come down again," Carillo said.

Utah Highway Patrol Officers, construction workers and UDOT's Incident Management Teams are all working with the construction equipment to get the road back open, Carillo said.

Southbound travelers are advised to take U.S. 89 down through Manti Canyon and connect with state Route 31, or travel through Provo Canyon to Duchesne and then take U.S. 191. They can also head farther south and take I- 70.

Carillo advised drivers to be extra cautious as they take the detours, due to the heavy rain.

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E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com

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