American Fork Canyon in Utah County, Utah, is one of the more popular canyons along the Wasatch Front, providing opportunities for year-round recreation. Formed as a joint effort with local municipalities, the American Fork Canyon Working Group includes the Utah Department of Transportation’s Traffic Management Group and regional office as well as serval federal agencies – all seeking to enhance traffic safety and operations within the canyon. If an incident happens in the canyon, members of the public must go two miles up or down the canyon to get to a phone to report it – potentially affecting the critical response time of emergency teams. To improve the situation, the group pursued a $6.5 million initiative to add fiber optic lines along S.R. 92 and S.R. 144 in the canyon to improve emergency response and provide real-time information to the traveling public. The dedication of each team member and Utah DOT’s positive relationships with private fiber optic companies were key to success. Construction began in spring 2020 with substantial completion in fall 2020. Crews installed over four miles of fiber optic lines and built 26 communication and data collection nodes to provide cell service. They installed data collection systems and cameras along the roadway to improve weather-monitoring capabilities while providing canyon users with real-time travel information.
America's Transportation Awards 