This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A series of crashes on icy stretches of road where U.S. 6 and Interstate 15 merge in Utah County forced commuters to detour for more than an hour Thursday morning.
Utah Highway Patrol Cpl. Todd Johnson said the accidents, all around 7 a.m., had the westbound U.S. 6 ramp to northbound I-15 in Spanish Fork closed down. Motorists were urged to use alternate routes until traffic resumed through the area at 8:30 a.m.
Johnson said the chain-reaction crashes began when a car slid and rolled as it exited U.S. 6 to enter I-15. Gusty winds, combined with subfreezing temperatures, had created black ice on the ramp. The driver of that car sustained minor injuries.
In the moments after the initial crash, five more cars collided with each other. No one was injured in those accidents.
Johnson said road crews spread salt and sand on the ramp to make it safe for use.