An icy Friday morning turned the commute across the Salt Lake Valley and into Tooele County into a slow-motion mess, with a string of crashes shutting down stretches of I-80 and I-15 and clogging traffic for hours. Slide-offs and pileups left cars scattered on high-speed ramps and in medians as emergency crews hustled from one crash scene to the next. Officials said scattered patches of ice were still lurking on bridges and shaded stretches of freeway while crews worked to get all lanes back open.
Where the crashes happened
According to KSL NewsRadio, multiple crashes hit the area near westbound Interstate 80 and State Route 36 in Tooele County, where several vehicles ended up tangled in the cable barrier near mile marker 100. A concrete barrier was shoved into a travel lane, and the left lane in both directions is expected to stay closed there until crews can finish clearing the wreckage.
The same KSL NewsRadio report notes that separate collisions on southbound I-15 near 14600 South in Bluffdale forced troopers to shut down the freeway. As conditions improved, officers were able to reopen the three right lanes. UDOT crews were expected to move the displaced barrier and recover the vehicles still blocking traffic.
Troopers describe heavy call volume
"It is very busy for us right now; lots of crashes are going on," Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Cameron Roden told KSL NewsRadio. He said the I-15 crashes involved five or six vehicles and that troopers were juggling multiple incident scenes across both Salt Lake and Tooele counties. Roden urged drivers to slow down, leave more space between vehicles, and give emergency crews room to work safely on the roadside.
How to check conditions and stay safe
Drivers are encouraged to check live maps and camera feeds before heading out. UDOT Traffic offers statewide incident reports and real-time camera views of major routes. For tips on handling icy roads and prepping your vehicle for winter conditions, the Utah Highway Patrol’s winter driving guide is available at UHP.
Emergency responders continued working through the morning to clear crashes and reopen affected stretches of freeway, and drivers in those corridors should plan for lingering delays. Officials again reminded motorists that even short patches of black ice can turn a high-speed freeway into a chain-reaction crash zone in seconds. We will update this story as agencies release more information.
