Here is what I just sent to the guy that finally replied to my inquiry about this topic. I will let you know his response as soon as I get one.
BTW his number and email is below, if needed bombard this guy with calls and emails.
Jeff,
First I would like to thank you for replying to my inquiry about the road closures.
I tried to call you a couple times this morning and talk with you about this but was unsuccessful. I would greatly appreciate a phone call in return once you have read my concerns below.
Chad Thomsen 801.......
Second I would like to inform you of the mess that is going on up Wolfcreek pass right now if you are not aware of it.
As you know Hwy 35 is supposed to be CLOSED to vehicles and access is only for WINTER RECREATION. The sign (picture below) is posted at the gate on Hwy 35.
However the gate remains open and there is plow drivers still trying to keep this road open. This is causing havoc for not only the snowmobilers trying to RECREATE in a place that has been designated for them to recreate by the state, but it is also causing motorists to get trapped in snow conditions that are not suitable for their vehicles. (See second picture below) Snowmobilers with their 4 wheel drive trucks are having to help cars get turned around on the road and go back to Kamas because of the SMALL storm we had Friday and Saturday on the Pass. There was not even that much snow that fell but it was more just the snow that was just getting blown around and drifted on the road that cars were not able to pass through it. Had it not been for a couple of snowmobilers that were still up there these people might have been stuck there all night in 0 degree weather. That in itself should tell UDOT this road should not try to be kept open.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, for the safety of the motorists on the pass as well as the snowmobilers that have a right to use the road UNPLOWED and groomed for WINTER RECREATION, CLOSE THE GATES!!!
Both the gates on the Tabiona side as well as the Kamas side NEEDS TO BE CLOSED!
If you are going to conduct a study that’s fine conduct the study, but please do not half *** plow the road and keep it open for snowmobilers and motorists. The road is packed with trucks and trailers having to drive up a poorly plowed roads and then there are now other cars getting stuck in the snow that are now prepared for the kind of weather that is present at these high elevation passes.
Again please close the gates and conduct the study but do it in a safe manner.
Quite frankly UDOT spending $200,000 of the taxpayers money to conduct a study is beyond ridiculous and very upsetting to me as a taxpayer. Save the $200,000 and do something actually productive and beneficial to the community. For example Fix Bangerter highway from 90th south to I-15. I see that north of 90th south has been shaved down and is now a much smoother road. South of 90th South is still a bumpy mess and should be addressed. There are thousands of vehicles that use that road every day (myself included) and it is extremely irritating to see UDOT spending money on a Study to see if 372 people might benefit from keeping the road open in the winter that is going to cost the taxpayers much more money to keep open. I just don’t see how one can justify spending that kind of money for something that is so obvious to many of us and we can’t get roads fixed in the salt lake valley that have 100,000 times the amount of traffic on it every day.
Also I have done a study myself this morning that cost the tax payers absolutely nothing. Not $200,000 like UDOT is conducting. Below are my findings for just the Wolfcreek pass road.
Sorry the formatting of excel does not transfer very good to this forum
Wolf Creek Pass
Via hwy 40Via Hwy 35
City to City Strawberry ResWolfcreek PassDifference
City CityDistance Time MinDistance Time MinDistanceTime
TabionaHeber 64.46655.9758.5-9Takes longer time.
TabionaKamas80.78744.36236.425
TabionaPark City 81.48759.58221.95
TabionaSalt Lake 10911087.110721.93
TabionaProvo90.39583.91086.4-13Takes longer time
Average distance and time saved 19.022.2
MilesMinutes
Population of Tabiona2010
372 People 2010 Census
Mileage taken from Google Maps
By looking at these very simple statistics, you can see the mileages and time being saved by keeping this pass open during the winter months.
Yes if one is going only from Tabiona to Kamas it saves about 25 minutes at posted speed limits. However many times the mountain passes are not dry clear roads and therefore one must drive at a much slower pace in order to travel the road safely. Which in turn cuts the 25 minutes into much smaller time savings. And many times could result in a longer drive as I am sure was the case this past Friday and Saturday. And many cars could not even make it over the pass and had to turn around. I don’t know what the Budget is to keep this kind of a road open during the winter months but I can’t imagine it is very cheap. The only thing going for UDOT this year is that so far it has been a very below average snowfall for the Uintah mountains and has been somewhat manageable to plow part of the road. Once the weather turns snowy again how much of this road is going to be passable during and after a storm. The Uintah mountains usually get 8 – 10 feet of snow on the pass if not more. Some years its much more and some years it can be less. The past two years it has for sure been less.
Wolfcreek pass is a vital part of the snowmobiling trail system that has been set up in the state of Utah and that is being compromised for a few people that want to use the pass in the winter to get somewhere that there is already a perfectly good way to get there via Hwy 40.
Again please call me when you have read this.
Thanks,
Chad Thomsen
801....
From: Jeff Harris [mailto:jeffharris@utah.gov]
Sent: Monday, January 06, 2014 7:29 AM
To: Chad Thomsen
Subject: Winter Closure Feasibility Study
Chad,
Thank you for contacting UDOT regarding the above feasibility study.
Every year we have more requests from the public to provide year-around access on routes historically closed during winter. The answer has always been simple in that UDOT is not budgeted to maintain most of the high elevation routes. In light of increased interest/populations, the Department needed to better understand the hard costs involved with keeping a route(s) open, as well as the potential benefits that might exist. The objective of this study is to organize much of the information that already exists (equipment, materials, manpower) along with conceptual engineering improvements that may be required to safely maintain winter access. We also plan to take a very high level look at what potential benefits may be realized if the roads were open throughout the winter. This includes the benefits of keeping a road closed.
Should one of the routes being studied appear viable and warrant further evaluation, UDOT would engage stakeholders in an effort to gain additional perspective.
I hope this information is helpful, please let me know if you have additional questions,
Regards,
Jeff Harris
UDOT Program Development
Planning Director
4501 South 2700 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84119
Office: 801-965-4354
Cell: 801-860-9560
Email:
jeffharris@utah.gov
Name:: Chad Thomsen
City and State of Residence:: Herriman
Phone:: 801.....
Comments/Questions(limited to 2000 characters):
I have heard that UDOT is considering Plowing more mountain passes in the winter. Can some one give me more information on this topic?
Thanks.
He needs to hear from us too.
Hopefully that is true. The reason he gave for the gates not being closed is the lack of snow early on. Normally by the first week in December there are enough storms to close the road. This year that just was not the case. There was not enough snow down low to actually close the road. I know that to be true as i went to the top of the pass to ride in early December. There was one storm that got enough snow I parked at the lot Dec 8th but the gates were still not closed. Well the explanation to me was that someone got stuck up high and they had to plow to get them out. Then with not much snow coming after that they decided to keep plowing the road until more snow came. Now we are in the situation we are in. (Good thing I have stayed on Mirror lake side the past couple weeks.) 
