Kayakers worried about height of new Croydon bridge

CROYDON, Morgan County — Kayakers said they are concerned a new bridge in Morgan County is too low.

Croydon Bridge, also known as Devil’s Bridge, crosses a popular section of the River Weber.

“Especially on a warm weekend or a holiday weekend like the Fourth or Memorial Day or something like that, you can come around the corner and just see hundreds of tubers, kayakers, deer, lots of different people using the river,” said kayak and raft guide Melody Ream.

Kayakers: Temporary bridge over Weber River too low, dangerous

Mitch Shaw, a spokesman for the Utah Department of Transportation, said the new bridge opened in April. It replaced a temporary bridge that was built last summer. The original bridge was almost 100 years old when it was taken down.

Shaw said UDOT was limited in how high it could build the bridge because of nearby rail infrastructure. He said the bridge is a high-traffic thoroughfare for high-profile vehicles, especially trucks heading to a nearby cement plant that need to be able to pass under the railroad tracks.

Concerns for people and machines

People who are on the water regularly, like Melody Ream, said they are concerned that inexperienced people can’t get under it, and cars might not be able to cross it if the water rises.

“Especially the tubers,” she said. “They kind of fumble around, so they don’t have a lot of control over where they go. So I come around this corner and it’s a blind corner.”

She said she hoped river users would have been considered more in the planning and design process.

“I know it was a complex issue because you have funding, they had two other bridges that they were maneuvering between because there’s the railroad bridge and the other railroad bridge,” Ream said. “I know it’s the mining company on the other side.”

Kayaker Parker Phillips said water is already coming over the bridge.

“I know if we were to have as much water as last year or if we were to get a random surge, that could be a problem for people going over it because just the flow of water going over it,” he said.

Shaw said KSL ideally would have built the bridge at a higher height. He said water pooled over the original bridge a few years ago and they will have to be prepared for the chances of it happening again. He said crews were working on the river bed to try to lower the water level.

Families and others on the water

Phillips and Ream said they aren’t too concerned about people familiar with the stretch. Instead, they think of families or people who might be intoxicated floating down the river.

“If you’re a family and you go and say, ‘Okay, now I’ve got to round up all these kids and get them out before the bridge’ … they might get pushed into it and get trapped,” he said Ream.

They know how powerful water can be. Ream said he did search and rescue work.

“The bridge can catch like trees and stuff,” she said. “If it catches a tree and then a person goes through it, it will be called a creeper. So it’s like spaghetti, right? Just like juice can get through, water can get through, but it gets people, things, tubes, all kinds of things.”

There is a portage area to the left where people get out of the water and go around the bridge. Both Ream and Phillips said they present their own dangers with vehicles such as semi-trucks driving close to the driveway.

“I worry that someone might cross the street and not look both ways and then pass a semi,” Phillips said.

“It’s not a perfect solution”

Ream said as a raft guide, she’s seen it’s not a perfect solution.

“If I’m taking somebody on a raft, I can take people who normally aren’t allowed to be out in the wilderness recreating, like they might not be physically fit or something,” she said. “It’s actually really fun to be able to take them out, but to help me carry the raft or, you know, just stuff like that, it’s very difficult for disabled people and elderly people.”

She and Phillips believe there should be more warning signs posted upstream.

“You show up on the bridge and there’s no ‘get out’ soon signs or anything,” Phillips said.

Shaw told KSL that the construction company that put up the temporary bridge also placed portage signs in the area, but they have since been removed. He said UDOT currently has no plans for more signs to be put up. He said anyone rafting the river should be with an experienced guide who knows the river and its obstacles.

Ream and Phillips have a warning for people on the water, especially ahead of Memorial Day weekend.

“I’m not necessarily as concerned about replacing it as I am about signage and letting people be aware that they need to get out of the river earlier,” Phillips said.