Submitted by Ken Watts
Accident data provided by the Idaho Transportation Department reveals that there is no trend for more fatality or injury accidents on US 20 between Ashton and SH 87. Research also reveals that the accident rate is below the Idaho average for a road of this type. This was reported in Ken’s Korner several weeks ago. Now we learn that the accident rate on US 20 between Ashton and SH 87 is far below the national average. This is documented in an October 18, 2019, J-U-B Engineers, Inc. report to ITD. The report is titled “US 20 Passing Lanes – Revised Existing Conditions and 2042 No-Build Traffic Analysis (Part 1)”. The report states the following: “Crash Data & Analysis. J-U-B completed a crash analysis using the latest available 5-year (2013-2017) data. A summary of the crash data is included in Appendix C. Based on the data collected, there was a total of 183 crashes within the study area, equivalent to an average crash rate of approximately 47 crashes per 100 million average vehicle miles traveled (AVMT) between 2013 and 2017. Segment 1 (MP 369 - MP 377) had 67 crashes with a crash rate of 59.1 crashes per 100 million average vehicle-miles travelled. Segment 2 (MP 377 – 387) had 66 crashes with a crash rate of 42.9 crashes per 100 million average vehicle-miles travelled. Segment 3 (MP 387 -MP 395) had 50 crashes with a crash rate of 40.5 crashes per 100 million average vehicle-miles travelled. The crash data analyzed is summarized by severity and crash type in Figure 2 and Figure 3, respectively. The overall study area crash rate and individual segment crash rates are significantly lower than the U.S. and State Highways year 2017 statewide average crash rate of 154.5 crashes per 100 million VMT. The crash rates are also lower than the year 2017 average crash rate of 87.36 crashes per 100 million AVMT for rural roadways (both interstate and non-interstate) in Idaho during this same time period.” Let that sink in! The crash rate on US 20 is over 3 times less than the national average for a road of this type! It is not even close! Remember that ITD’s purpose and need statement led us to believe that the crash rate was going up and that this was a significant issue. Were you misled? You decide. Also remember that you were told that congestion is an issue. Is it? This issue will be examined next week plus a look at conflicts of interest for contractors.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Making Sense of It All
This blog will help you make sense out of all the information on the website, how it affects IP, our history, and how efforts continue to put IP into various forms of conservation status. Archives
May 2023
Categories |