This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

After three accidents at the same spot over the Thanksgiving weekend — including the death of a young mother — crews have made some quick changes at the intersection of Bangerter Highway and Redwood Road in Riverton.

To reduce confusion caused by construction there, crews moved a traffic signal on Redwood Road; widened the painted stripe on the road where traffic is supposed to stop; and added street lighting to improve visibility, said John Gleason, spokesman for the Utah Department of Transportation.

The agency also plans within days to reduce speed limits there from 60 mph to 50 mph on Bangerter, and from 45 mph to 35 mph on Redwood, Gleason said.

Crews were sent to temporarily use flags to help guide traffic at the intersection Sunday until the changes were in place.

The changes come after a Saturday afternoon accident in which Taylor Zimmerman, 20, of Lehi was driving northbound on Redwood Road when witnesses say she ran a red light at Bangerter. Her car was T-boned by an eastbound car, said Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal.

Zimmerman was cut out of her heavily damaged car by emergency crews and flown to a hospital, but died within hours. Her 10-month-old son survived. He was buckled in a car seat and suffered minor injuries. Two people from the other car were also transported to hospitals with injuries.

Gleason said two accidents also occurred at the same intersection Thanksgiving Day, but were minor.

"It was a tragic crash," Gleason said of the accident involving Zimmerman. "Anytime we have a crash in any work zone, we look to see if there's anything we can do to make it safer."

He said ongoing construction at the intersection has led to changing traffic patterns there from time to time, and the current one has been in place for about two weeks.

Even before the crashes, Gleason said UDOT had made some changes after looking at the new traffic pattern and receiving some complaints.

"That included putting in an electronic sign that said, 'Stop here on red,' " he said.

Crews also had widened the painted stripe on the road where cars are supposed to stop — and widened it again after the fatal crash, Gleason said.

UDOT had added a "lag phase" at the traffic signal to add several seconds between stopping traffic on Bangerter and allowing traffic to proceed on Redwood. Gleason said that change, made before the fatal crash, is designed to let late-arriving traffic clear, and was an attempt to help prevent accidents from cars running a red light.

After the fatal accident, crews moved a traffic signal closer to northbound traffic on Redwood Road. Gleason said the intersection currently is longer than normal because of construction, and the light had been distant from where cars are supposed to stop.

UDOT is in the process of converting the intersection into a freewaylike interchange to improve safety and traffic flow.