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1. Vantage Highway Corridor Improvements <br />Kittitas County Public Works recently received Rural Arterial Program (RAP) funding for a $1 <br />million dollar roadway overlay from MP 21.25 to MP 27.51 on Vantage Highway. The current <br />guardrail is Type 28 and will be considered non-compliant once the overlay takes place. As a <br />result, there is an urgent need to upgrade the guardrail to Type 31. The guardrail replacement <br />consists of 13,001 feet on the South side of the road and 5,599 feet on the North side of the <br />road, for a total of 18,600 feet. <br />If we do not replace the guardrail, there will be a high potential for greater risk for run off the <br />road accidents. Vehicles that engage the guardrail will not be restrained, causing increased <br />potential for launching. The lack of adequate guardrail poses an imminent threat to the traveling <br />public. <br />Vantage Highway accounts for 27% of the serious injury crashes from 2013-2017. Two accidents <br />within the project length ranked high on our road segment prioritization. The crashes occurred <br />in December of 2016 and 2017 at the exact same mile post, MP 24. Both accidents were caused <br />by icy roadway conditions and the inability to control the vehicle. One accident resulted in a <br />vehicle being located off the roadway. The other accident resulted in the vehicle crashing into a <br />bank and rolling multiple times. Navigation of hazardous roadways in the winter months <br />becomes increasingly dangerous when the guardrail cannot support vehicle engagement. When <br />guardrail cannot support vehicle engagement, navigation of hazardous, wintry roadways <br />becomes increasingly dangerous. Additionally, if these corridor improvements do not occur <br />alongside the overlay, Kittitas County would be liable for any injurious accidents. <br />Vantage Highway provides a regionally significant east -west connection from Vantage to <br />Ellensburg, providing access to 1-90, recreation, agricultural areas, and wind and solar facilities. <br />Vantage Highway is also heavily used by trucks which account for almost half of the ADT (truck <br />ADT = 275). Guardrail replacement is an immediate public safety issue that the county is eager <br />to pursue. <br />10 <br />