Res-2019-082 Road Safety Plan - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

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