UDOT officials say they're prepared for disaster

Were a natural disaster the caliber of Katrina to hit Utah, roads and other ways out of danger would be vital to initial responses to the emergency, state transportation officials say. They also say they're prepared.

Crews can quickly mobilize to repair roads, and bus operators can assemble quickly, they said.

"We never know what (emergency) it's going to be, but our employees know what to do and how to do it," said Carlos Braceras, deputy director of the Utah Department of Transportation. "We're not relying on one super-leader. We're a very nimble and empowered organization."

Having to get proper government permission or being forced to deal with paperwork were cited as unnecessary and frustrating hurdles by several emergency services providers in Louisiana and Mississippi.

At UDOT, employees have prepared since the 2002 Winter Games to respond to a large-scale disaster. The Olympics offered the department an opportunity to change how it viewed security and emergency response, said Braceras, including the unexpected benefit of the department's truck fleet.

"We realized that someone driving an orange dump truck could go just about anywhere," he said.

In an emergency, UDOT's would first notify senior leadership and start a call-down tree to determine where people and equipment are.

While that inventory is under way, the department would also begin talking with state and local emergency responders and UDOT would dispatch workers and equipment accordingly.

"The goal of the communication protocol is having tools in place to provide the transportation connections necessary," Braceras said.

Key areas of concern to UDOT would be bridge safety plus I-15 and I-80, critical roads.

I-15 bridges in Salt Lake County have been designed to resist a significant earthquake, No. 1 on the list of natural disasters expected in the area.

Farther outlying bridges are older and at more risk of collapse in a quake.

UDOT officials have a list of contractors they could call during an emergency to quickly repair roads. When a truck carrying explosives crashed and exploded, putting a 70-foot crater in U.S. 6 last month, a contractor was called to do emergency repairs on the road, which reopened in less than 48 hours.

Besides roads, other transportation systems in Utah include TRAX and the bus, both operated by the Utah Transit Authority. Since 1990, UTA has been involved in planning for major disasters from earthquakes to bioterrorism, according to Randy Park, UTA manager of special projects and emergency preparedness.