Public meeting addresses Seward Highway safety
DOT officials, Troopers and concerned citizens discuss rash of fatalities, highway crashes, and possible solutions
By Ken Smith
Turnagain Times
A day before a public meeting was held at the Girdwood Community Center to address a rash of fatal crashes on the Seward Highway, another fatal collision occurred.
At noon, on Thursday, Aug. 6 at Mile 111.5, a five vehicle accident resulted in two Soldotna teenagers, 16 and 19 years of age, being killed. An investigation of the accident revealed that the driver of a Dodge truck tried to pass a line of cars in a passing zone and pulled into oncoming traffic causing a chain reaction of collisions.
This accident followed two other horrific crashes that occurred less than two weeks earlier.
On July 24, at Mile 76.6, a van carrying seven children from the Kodiak American League Baseball team crossed the centerline into the northbound lane and crashed into a Subaru station wagon. An 11-year-old boy sitting in the rear passenger’s seat of the Subaru was killed.
And on July 26, there was a head on collision at Mile 88 when a Ford F150 pickup truck swerved into oncoming traffic and struck a Ford Escape. The passenger in the Escape, a 59-year-old woman from Seward, was killed.
These recent deaths along with so many others on the Seward Highway over the years, prompted Girdwood Fire Chief Bill Chadwick to call for a special public meeting to discuss the problem and possible solutions.
“We all know there are bad drivers out there,” Chadwick said as he opened the meeting. “We all have had close calls.”
That sentiment, though short and to the point, seems to be the central problem—reckless and dangerous driving behavior causing most of the major accidents on Alaska highways.
Statistics gathered from 2001 through Aug. 2, 2007, indicate that alcohol and speeding were the leading cause of fatal crashes.
In 2007, seven people were killed on Alaska highways because of drivers that had been drinking (38 percent) and seven were killed in a crash because of speeding (38 percent).
On the Seward Highway, particularly between Mile 117 (Potter Marsh) south to Mile 87 (3 miles south of Girdwood), statistics gathered between 2006 to 2009 show that the leading cause of fatalities was failure to keep in the proper lane (25 percent) resulting in 15 fatalities; speeding was the second leading cause (16 percent) causing 10 fatalities, and impaired drivers (11 percent) resulting in seven fatalities.
Among the many graphics displayed at the public meeting, one in particular documented the grim statistics on the 29.9 mile stretch of highway between Potter Marsh and Girdwood. From 1977 to 2007 there have been 68 accidents, resulting in 89 fatalities and 218 major injuries.
At the meeting, Department of Transportation officials presented in great detail what they feel would be the best solution for curbing accidents on the Seward Highway.
Some of the more immediate solutions include: adding rumble strips on the centerlines, installing chevron alignment signs on sharp curves, and adding curve warning signs.
More expensive projects include adding passing lanes and realigning the highway at dangerous curves such as Windy Corner.
In total, the DOT estimates that if they completed all of the planned and proposed safety and rehabilitation projects on the Seward Highway, including adding a four-lane divided highway from Girdwood to Potter Marsh, the cost would be more than $600 million.
“It’s not just an issue of money,” Department of Transportation Commissioner Frank Richards told the standing room only audience. “We’re challenged by mountains on one side and Turnagain Arm on the other, and we have to be concerned about the environment.”
Another challenge is building a highway that can keep up with the increase of traffic. Between 1997 and 2007 traffic volume between Mile 87 to 117 has increased 300 percent on the Seward Highway, and traffic volumes during busy summer weekends in July have reached 22,400 vehicles, over two times the average daily traffic volume on this route.
Unlike most scenic byways, which are used as alternative scenic routes, the Seward Highway is a multi-use main highway corridor; it is used by commuters, commercial trucks, recreational vehicles and sightseers.
But one constant in the statistical analysis of the cause of accidents was that driver behavior was the leading cause, not road conditions or the design of the highway.
“Almost all accidents are driver behavior issues, something they failed to do,” said Ron Martindale, Highway Safety Improvement Coordinator. “It’s pretty hard to come up with an engineering solution–education and enforcement, we can’t do enough about it.”
Since the new Seward Highway was completed between Bird and Girdwood, one major measure was taken to make the highway safer. On May 26, 2006, a safety corridor was created, doubling fines on that stretch of highway. The corridor was established, in part, because of a spate of fatal crashes and serious collisions on the highway.
One thing that jumps off the statistical map of fatal and major injury crashes from Potter Marsh to Mile 87 is that vehicle collisions are nothing new. For over 30 years there has been a consistent volume of crashes resulting in deaths and serious injuries on that section of the highway.
On the public safety side, Troopers have stepped up highway patrols targeting speeders and erratic drivers. But like engineering costs, funds are limited, and there’s a limit of personnel.
The Bureau of Highway Patrol has nine Troopers that patrol the state’s highways, in addition to local Troopers posted in different communities.
During busy periods, like the Fourth of July, Troopers from the BHP assist local Troopers on Turnagain Arm and the Kenai Peninsula.
But as Col. Audie Holloway of the State Troopers stated in the meeting, “We’ve been here throughout the summer, but we can’t be here all the time.”
Many solutions were proposed at the meeting, much of it costing a great deal of money that may or may not be available in coming years with the ongoing recession and less federal highway dollars coming to the state.
However, as one man stated during the public comment period, financial costs do not outweigh the price of lives.
“$600 million in costs, but what’s the cost of a family that loses a loved one,” said Anchorage resident Bob McVitty, whose 23-year-old son died in an accident at Mile 99 on July 14, 2002. “There’s political horsepower in this room and financial horsepower, and we need to get people on the same page to make something happen.”
In-depth DOT statistics and graphics in PDF format
Fatal and major injury crash locations for 1977-2007
