WEBER CANYON, Utah, Nov. 16, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah Department of Transportation has begun repairs to the Devil’s Slide bridge, closing the main access to the startling formation on the hillside above until spring.
Repairs to the aging, nearly 100-year-old bridge are expected to take an estimated 120 days, according to UDOT’s construction impacts listing on its website. The bridge over the Weber River leads to the scenic viewpoint and parking lot for the iconic formation on the south side of the river.
“Looking like a large playground slide fit only for the Devil,” as the Utah Geologic Survey describes it, Devil’s Slide represents a classic example of how different rock layers, depending on their composition, are affected by weathering and erosion.
The parallel serrated ridges climb the hillside at a point 23 miles up Weber Canyon from Ogden. Traffic will be diverted through the nearby town of Croydon at Exit 111, according to UDOT, during the rebuild.
“The sides of the slide are hard, weather-resistant limestone layers about 40 feet high, 25 feet apart, and several hundred feet in length,” according to the geologic survey describing the 75-million-year-old formation.
“In between these two hard layers is a shaley limestone that is slightly different in composition from the outer limestone layers. This middle layer is softer, which makes it more susceptible to weathering and erosion, thus forming the chute of the slide.”
