EVANSTON — The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in numerous challenges for individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations and government agencies, some of which might not be so obvious. One such challenge presented itself when Uinta County officials realized they needed a vehicle to transport folks to and from testing when other transportation options were unavailable or simply not the best option.

For example, individuals without a vehicle or possibly truck drivers who may need to be tested would need a way to get to a healthcare facility. Transporting people in an ambulance isn’t the most desirable approach and utilizing law enforcement vehicles could create safety issues for officers.

When county officials approached staff at T Bar S Body Shop in Evanston about revamping an older county vehicle for use as transportation in such situations, body shop staff welcomed the challenge. It sounded relatively simple. Modify the interior of a vehicle to place a barrier that would prevent the spread of illness but preserve visual contact between driver and passengers.

It turned out to be quite the challenge.

Body shop crew members, however, embraced that challenge when county staff delivered an old, nearly out-of-service and gutted vehicle for conversion. Manager Jeremy Rex and shop hand Mike Saxton began calling around conducting research on solutions other counties had devised. As it turns out, there weren’t many. Rex said most of the places they called suggested simply using the same type of barrier used in law enforcement vehicles. The problem, however, was that wouldn’t have provided an airtight barrier against possible virus transmission and, “Driver safety was our number one goal,” said Saxton.

Further, said Saxton, they didn’t want the vehicle to feel like a police vehicle.

“People who might be sick don’t need to feel like they’re in trouble and being arrested,” he said.

With those goals in mind, Saxton got creative. He spent dozens of hours over a couple of weeks meticulously making a cardboard tracing of the contours of the inside of the vehicle. He then customized and fabricated metal in-house and ordered plexiglass to fit those contours.

The result of their efforts is an airtight, comfortable, lightweight and unique vehicle ready for use. Saxton managed to set up a valve to allow heating and air conditioning to be controlled by the driver for temperature control in the passenger area in such a way that air can flow to the backseats but not vice versa.

The front passenger seat was removed and replaced with angled plexiglass to allow a roomier area for those in the back.

“I was thinking about larger or taller people or even people who might have an oxygen tank or something and need more room,” said Saxton. “I wanted everybody to be able to use it.”

Instead of being bulky and heavy, Saxton said the added components have a total weight of less than 100 pounds. They’ve also tested it extensively, filling the back area utilizing a fog machine and then opening and closing doors, driving, etc., to make sure the smoke didn’t make its way up front to the driver.

Not only were Saxton and Rex committed to ensuring safety and providing a comfortable transport option, they were committed to utilizing local suppliers for the parts. They used metal from Ellingford Brothers, glass from Deru’s Glass Works, small parts and fittings from Ace Hardware and Kallas NAPA Automotive and even cloth from Common Threads.

“We should all be supporting our community as much as we can,” said Saxton, “even for stuff we maybe used to get other places.”

While deservedly proud of and excited about what they were able to devise to meet the community’s needs, the two said they are just hopeful it’s useful and that maybe other communities could benefit from what they developed.