WOLF CREEK PASS BOOSTS ACCESS TO THE UINTA BASIN

DUCHESNE -- Law enforcement officials are discovering that an 8-year
federal highway project to make the scenic Wolf Creek Road more accessible
to motorists has made it easier for drug runners to drive from Salt Lake
City to the Uinta Basin without being detected.

The $30 million Wolf Creek Road traverses a rugged mountain pass through
west Duchesne County and east Summit County and was completed a year ago.
The project transformed a rugged and narrow dirt road into a year-round
highway. It provides a safer and more direct route for residents of
Duchesne County's east side to travel to the Wasatch Front while giving
Wasatch Front recreationists easier access to hunting, fishing and camping
in Duchesne County.

While the completed project may be great for tourism, it's also being used
more frequently by those conducting illegal drug activity

"That's probably becoming a route because it's not patrolled very often and
people are using it more now because it's kind of out of the area," said
Duchesne County sheriff's deputy Brad Draper.

"On Highway 40 from Salt Lake City to Vernal, they will run into numerous
law enforcement officers, but the other way they don't. We are trying to
anticipate that and we will try to use that as an artery and effect some
kind of interdiction," Draper said.

He recently arrested two residents of Whiterocks, Uintah County, after
finding cocaine in their car. Many of those arrested for drugs who have
been nabbed coming over the pass have been found to be suppliers and are
being charged with first-degree felonies. Most of those arrested are repeat
offenders, he said.