New traffic safety corridor begins Wednesday on OR 211, Molalla to Colton
Oct. 22, 2021
Contact: Don Hamilton, 503-704-7452
Speeding on OR 211 will get a lot more expensive starting Wednesday when ODOT launches a new Safety Corridor where crashes have been alarmingly high.
The new safety corridor will extend for eight miles on OR 211, the Woodburn Estacada Highway, from Molalla to Colton, between milepost 14 and 22, and will be in place for three to five years.
ODOT designates safety corridors on state highways where fatal and serious injury crash rates rise well above the statewide average for similar types of roadway. That means travelers on that stretch of road will see new SAFETY CORRIDOR and FINES DOUBLE signs starting Wednesday.
The safety corridor aligns with one of the three main priorities of ODOT’s Strategic Action Plan: making sure we have a safe and modern transportation system. One element of that priority is the goal of preventing traffic fatalities and serious injuries to ensure safety on our highways. The OR 211 Safety Corridor aligns with this goal by aiming to quickly bring down the crash rate in this corridor.
This effort involves the three Es of traffic safety: enforcement, engineering and education.
- Enforcement: We are installing signs designating the boundaries of the safety corridor and announcing that traffic fines have doubled. Police will enforce the new fines.
- Engineering: Over the next there to five years ODOT will consider short term solutions, such as improved signs, rumble strips and pavement striping, and will plan long term solutions that will help bring down the crash rate.
- Education: We will raise awareness about safe driving practices through educational materials and community engagement.
From 2015 through 2019, the rate of fatal and serious crashes in this corridor was 166.5% of the statewide average for similar roads. During this time, there were 139 crashes and twelve fatalities in the corridor. The most common causes of fatal and serious injury crashes were driving left of center, inattention, driving too fast for current conditions, and driving faster than the speed limit.
In light of this high crash rate and concerns we heard from the community, ODOT is designating the new safety corridor to help bring down the crash rate quickly using enforcement, engineering and education.
We are also getting ready to conduct a Road Safety Audit on OR 211 to evaluate the safety conditions on the road, and we are putting together a group of community stakeholders -- including representatives from city and county agencies, schools and law enforcement -- to identify possible safety solutions to reduce crashes and improve safety for everyone.
We are still identifying potential crash reduction solutions through engineering and education so no project costs have yet been identified.
We commonly decommission safety corridors when the average rate of fatal and serious injury crashes is at or below 150% of the statewide rate for similar type of roadways.
For more information go to the OR 211 Safety Corridor web site.
New safety corridor signs like this one will be unveiled Wednesday on OR 211 between Molalla and Colton
|
