Jim Passage has provided this summary of an article in the Seattle Times from Wedensday:
The Seattle Times ran an article; “Highway 2 safety, funds fail
intersect” in the paper today; This is a summary of the highlights of the
article
“Come on, people are getting killed here”; Since 1999, a 59 mile
stretch of Highway 2 has seen more than 2,600 crashes, with 47
fatalities.
Little public money goes to improve the road; politics have a lot to do
with it. There have been 39 fatal collisions resulting in 47 deaths
along Highway 2 from Interstate 5 to Stevens Pass since 1999, the earliest
year for which the DOT has statistics. On a two-lane highway, every crossover
crash is a deadly one, when the speed limit is 60 MPH.
Safety advocates say higher-profile projects around Seattle hog state funding
while the death toll in Snohomish County climbs In the past, partisan politics have
been a major inhibitor to adequate funding. This part of Highway 2 got
zero money out of the increased gas tax, largely because of partisan
politics. Per capita Highway 2 is far deadlier than more populated areas
in the state. Included in the $18 billion DOT proposal to be voted on in
November is $50 million for the first phase of the Monroe bypass. The DOT
has broken down traffic trends and recommended safety improvements
according to each of the road’s varied segments.
Snohomish area, 30,000 vehicles per day.
Recommendations:
Widen the highway to 4 lanes and install median barriers
Build an overcrossing onramp at Bickford Ave
Monroe, population has grown from 4,200 to 16,000 since 1990.
Recommendation:
Build Bypass around Monroe
Segment Monroe to Gold Bar, 33,000 vehicles daily on the weekends
Recommendations:
Build 4 roundabouts in Sultan and one in Gold Bar
Segment Gold Bar to Skykomish, 18,000 vehicles per day on weekends.
13% of crashes are crossovers into oncoming traffic, and 43%
involve collisions with road side objects.
Recommendation:
Add turning and passing lanes at 6 points
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree. There’s lots that can be done to improve the road. The Tumwater Canyon segment is also a hazard. That’s why school buses are not allowed to use it when they carry children. There were plans a few years back to make this a seasonal road and reroute Highway 2. They were going to reroute the road starting just before the wenatchee river bridge, then go east of Plain and connect in just the other side of Leavenworth. Basically, follow the rail road.. Does anyone have an update on this project?
The entire Seattle Times article and photos which Jim Passage summarized in his submission on Highway 2 can be read at:
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=us2safety05n0&date=20070905&query=highway+2+safety
If you can’t make this link work go to http://www.seattletimes.com and use their search window for Highway 2 safety. The article is titled “Highway 2 Safety, Funds Fail To Intersect”.
I have known Fred Walser, the recently retired Chief of Police in Sultan and 28-year veteran of the State Patrol for years- he is very active in trying to get Highway 2 upgraded and made more safe. I will contact him and ask what folks that live in or commute regularly to the Lake Wenatchee area can do to help get some action on this issue.
I have mixed emotions about this. Every road project that makes it easier for auto traffic to get through (bypass) a pinch-point also brings more growth and population. I am not saying that we should stick our heads in the sand and hope the problem will go away, nor am I against road construction, but a change in behavior (driving habits) can do a lot. Just look at the recent I-5 “carpocalypse” in Seattle lat month. A change in people’s driving habits avoided a mass log-jam on the I-5 corridor through Seattle. Makes you wonder why we’re spending bazillions on mass-transit. I think the first step is more enforcement of the current speed limits on Hwy 2.
I agree with TShafer about more enforcement on HWY2 of the speed limit. I’d add that we can use better enforcement of no passing laws also. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen people passing on curves, in no passing zones and on the bridge just before Skykomish heading west. The last one on the bridge was a fully loaded logging truck from Canada who started passing at the bridge and didn’t finish till entering Skykomish.
As far as I know, roads don’t cause accidents – drivers do. Saying that it’s the fault of the highway design for accidents make me laugh. So, using that logic … I-5 and I-90 are safer because there are more lanes?
I agree with Dave Neir – the issue truly is with the way people drive and the lack of police presence to enforce the current laws. I also have observed more than once people passing on curves and over solid yellow lines. IMO, more lanes will just encourage people to drive faster. I do feel for the people who live in Sultan, Startup and Goldbar, as I imagine it’s a nightmare for them to try and cross the hwy at certain times/days. So perhaps bypassing those towns would be helpful.
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