Monte Cristo Highway section to close on Wednesday

OGDEN — Monte Cristo Highway between northeastern Weber County and western Rich County will close at 8 p.m. Wednesday ahead of the winter season, according to the Utah Department of Transportation.

The closure will impact the stretch from milepost 37 east of Huntsville to milepost 56 near Woodruff. A similarly high-elevation section of Big Mountain Highway straddling the boundary between Salt Lake and Morgan counties will close Wednesday at 4 p.m.

“Due to their high elevations, these two routes can be hit with extreme snowfall in a matter of hours,” UDOT said in a statement. “Winter maintenance on the roads is expensive and because of the chances of a swift, incoming heavy snowstorm, motorist safety is a concern during the winter months.”

UDOT advises motorists who use the soon-to-be closed section of Monte Cristo Highway to instead use either U.S. 89 through Logan Canyon or a combination of state Route 16, S.R. 89 in Wyoming, Interstate 80 and I-84 to access communities east and west of the highway. Motorists who normally use the Big Mountain Highway should use I-84 and S.R. 66 from Morgan or S.R. 65 from I-84 at Henefer to access the East Canyon recreation area.

The two roads typically close from late November through May, “but sometimes heavy snow forces closures to last longer,” UDOT said.

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