Wish and a Prayer

By CRAIG ANDERSON EMERY

What a lovely little jaunt from Emery to Ferron, not to mention the extended trip from Interstate 70, through Castle Dale over to Price. A persons trousers get worn at the knees, making such an adventure.
Each time the road is traveled, I pray to the Lord that the trip will be a safe one for me and my family. Again, I get on my knees and ask that “please, if I’m not in control of the steering wheel, would you watch over those close to me that they will be safe.” The narrow path across this area scares the hell out of me. I hate that my teen daughter drives here.
Understanding the desire of the public, as explained by the elected officials, “Recreation is a resource to be developed in and around our county.” Recreation seekers travel the same “expressway” as do the coal industry transports. How can they navigate an RV and keep their wheels out of the ditches? There is no room for travelers on this highway. Not recreation vehicles, commuters from the county (getting to be more all the time), and 300 coal trucks per hour. Intense!
Safety should be the first concern on our roads. Other issues need to be addressed in their order of importance.
One such issue is the perspective of a vacationer traveling our highways. Does the RV driver enjoy dodging coal trucks as he travels to a scenic designation? I think not. But the argument, one hears so often, makes so much sense. “We are not a big population area such as Salt Lake Valley. Those people can justify a ‘Legacy Highway.’ Much more tax money. Many more automobiles up there.”
How, may I ask, can we justify a “Transportation Highway” down Quitchupah Canyon? Correct, it saves the truckers 55 miles distance traveling. Sevier County will fund it and a toll will be charged to the trucking company to pay for it. Is this not a private road only until it gets to a “bigger, better” public taxed Highway SR-10.
Seems to me there are ways to sort the traffic out and make a better situation with the roads we have now. Perhaps widen them, make highway bypass roads around our towns, or get the coal trucks on their own private highway all the way to the power plant.