Last September, a fiery semitrailer wreck claimed the sign outside of the Oquirrh Mountain Inn in Lake Point.
Nearly five months later, a new sign — and new name — adorn the hotel, which was opened in 1984. Now the sign for the Oquirrh Mountain Inn will greet travelers at exit 99 on Interstate 80 looking for somewhere to spend the night.
Traci England Nelson, who operates the inn and the Best Western on Tooele Main Street, said there had already been conversations about rebranding the hotel, which is nearing the end of a complete remodel of its rooms.
“With the sign coming down, it was perfect timing to replace it,” she said.
The original name “Oquirrh Motor Inn” seemed outdated to Nelson. The Oquirrh Mountains, which provide the backdrop behind the inn, seemed like a more fitting name for the hotel, she said.
On the new sign, the stylized mountains are actually based on a panoramic photograph of the peaks as seen from the hotel’s parking lot, according to Nelson. Her daughter, a graphic design major at the University of Utah, took the photo and made it into the image that now adorns the sign.
“It’s a true image of the Oquirrh Mountains from our parking lot,” Nelson said.
So far the feedback on the name change and new sign has been positive, according to Nelson. Her father, Joe D. England, still owns the properties that Nelson manages but is out of town, so she’s excited to see his reaction to the new sign.
With remodeling work nearly complete, Nelson said the Oquirrh Mountain Inn will hold an open house in March to show off the updated facilities. It’s a different set of circumstances for a business that saw its main way to attract travelers knocked over in the single-vehicle accident last fall.
The accident occurred on Sept. 9 when the driver of a semitrailer pulling out of Flying J Truck Stop said he lost consciousness and his truck drifted off of the road around 11:20 a.m. According to the Utah Highway Patrol, the cab of the truck struck the Oquirrh Motor Inn sign and knocked it over.
Shortly after the impact, the cab of the semitrailer started to smoke and caught fire, according to UHP Trooper Chad McCoy. A maintenance worker at the hotel, Jeff Hicken, and Tooele County Sheriff Deputy Brandon Roberts, were able to get the driver out of the cab as the flames spread.
The cab was fully engulfed when the North Tooele Fire District arrived and put the fire out, according to UHP. The driver was transported by helicopter to the University of Utah Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Due to the accident, the right lane of eastbound SR-36 was closed for more than two hours while the fire was put out and the wrecked semitrailer was removed from the large rocks it collided with prior to hitting the sign.