Would Devoted Truck Lanes Make I-70 Safer?

October 10, 2009

To alleviate traffic pressure and reduce the number of serious or fatal crashes, Missouri is involved in a study of the feasibility of adding truck-only lanes to I-70.

October 10, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Would Devoted Truck Lanes Make I-70 Safer?

Article provided by Dollar, Burns & Becker, L.C.
Visit us at http://www.dollar-law.com

Interstate 70 is a major commercial artery for Missouri, providing an east-west route across the heart of the state for thousands of motorists and truckers every day. Every year, that vital passageway is becoming increasingly clogged with traffic, much of it in the form of big rigs hauling freight locally and on their way across the country.

According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, 70 percent of truck traffic goes from one end of Missouri to the other, accounting for 30 to 40 percent of all traffic on the highway. The trucks are involved in 28 percent of accidents on I-70 and 40 percent of the fatalities.

To alleviate traffic pressure and reduce the number of serious or fatal crashes, four states -- Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio -- are involved in a study of the feasibility of adding truck-only lanes to I-70, one of the busiest freight routes in the nation.

As currently envisioned, the plan would add four truck lanes (two going in each direction) in a center corridor down I-70, with passenger and local freight traffic traveling on separate, outside lanes (also two in each direction).

Missouri's I-70 project manager for the Missouri Department of Transportation says regardless of what the other three states determine to be in their best interests, the truck-only lanes make sense for the approximately 250 miles of I-70 here.

Moving trucks into their own lanes would reduce truck-on-car collisions and the injuries and deaths they can cause. According to The Truck Safety Coalition, in fatal crashes involving a large truck and a passenger vehicle, 98 percent of the fatalities are in the passenger vehicle.

The biggest obstacle to I-70 truck-only lanes could well be the estimated $18 billion price tag. Some proponents of the lanes suggest tolls for truckers as a way to pick up all or part of the tab. Some safety advocates complain that the current plan does not include concrete barriers between the truck lanes and the outside lanes going in the same direction. Given the prevalence of fatigue in truck crashes, such barriers should be required as part of the plan. Average daily traffic on the I-70 corridor is currently 45,000 vehicles, including 11,000 large trucks. The interstate has approximately 240 miles traversing urban areas, with 53 percent of those urban segments heavily congested.

It's estimated that by 2035, daily traffic will surge to over 100,000 vehicles daily, including over 25,000 big rigs, with 97 percent of urban areas of I-70 experiencing heavy congestion. Non-urban areas won't fare much better: It's expected that without major changes to I-70, 87 percent of those areas will be congested as well.

Article provided by Dollar, Burns & Becker, L.C.
Visit us at http://www.dollar-law.com

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