West Jordan intersection a 'Highway of Death'

WEST JORDAN — After shuttling her two children and several neighborhood kids to school, Cathi Hughes watches as cars zoom up and down state Route 111 in West Jordan.

"We call it the 'Highway of Death,' " she says. "There is no way I'm letting my kids cross that road."

Hughes is referring to the intersection at 8200 South and S.R. 111, near the Sycamores development. East of S.R. 111 are Sunset Ridge Middle School and Copper Hills High School. (S.R. 111 is also known as 8400 West and is sometimes called Bacchus Highway.)

Long-term solutions, such as a traffic light or a skybridge, aren't helping to ease the worry of parents who need a safe way for their kids to cross S.R. 111.

"I worry about all the kids in the neighborhood," Hughes said.

Legally, no government entity is required to ensure school kids safely cross at the intersection. Ethically, however, everyone is involved. "Student safety is a huge concern for all of us," said Jordan District board president Peggy Jo Kennett. School began last week for Jordan School District.

Jordan District has already axed many of its hazardous bus routes due to tight budgets, and the state requires cities to provide crossing guards, but just for elementary school students and only near marked school zones.

Simply sticking a crossing guard on S.R. 111 is not an option, West Jordan Mayor Melissa Johnson said. "It would just endanger one more person's life," she said.

Hoping for a solution and a way to pay for it, Johnson is organizing a meeting with legislators, including Rep. Jim Bird, R-West Jordan, UDOT officials and three members of the Jordan school board, who represent West Jordan — Kennett, Rick Bojak and Leah Voorhies.

"The district and the schools are prepared to work with the mayor," Kennett said.

"There has got to be a way we can take care of this. I'll do anything I can to help the kids," said Bojak.

Bird told the Deseret News there could be plans to move a skybridge, from 7800 South and Bangerter Highway, to the S.R. 111 crossing.

For now, the answer is simply to have parents drive their kids to school and with the help of the two local schools, city officials have called 67 families to organize carpools.

"It's been a great community effort," Johnson said. "We have so many people who are willing to help out. We just need some organization."

Hughes said carpooling is not a long-term solution and parents aren't going to let government officials forget about this issue. "It's going to take a kid getting hurt for someone to do something. If a kid got hit today, they would have a solution immediately," she said. "It's sad and scary."

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