Showing posts with label Kansas City Highway Safety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kansas City Highway Safety. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Changes Coming to Hwy 50 in Lee's Summit

Two fatal crashes last fall have led to the Missouri Department of Transportation taking action to improve safety on US 50 in Lee's Summit. Both accidents were of the head-on crossover variety. Soon after, there was a call for the installation of guard cable between the east and westbound lanes.

Steel guard cables are an extremely effective in preventing injuries and fatalities in crossover accidents. They consist of a strong steel cable run between posts to prevent vehicles from crossing the median into oncoming traffic. Rarely does a collision with the cable lead to any injuries, let alone fatalities. They have been used successfully since the 1960's, but their use has really taken off since the mid 90's. Cable barriers are also relatively low cost.

Installation of the barriers in Lee's Summit started on Monday. The left lanes of both directions will be closed during evening hours (after 7PM) while the work is being completed. The cables will be installed in the median of Hwy 50 between I-470 and the 3rd Street Exit. As an additional safety precaution, the speed limit has been lowered on US 50 between 470 and Todd George Rd. The Maximum speed has dropped from 65 to 60 effective Tuesday, May 3rd.

Recent Fatal crashes on KS 10 in Johnson County have led for calls to install the system there as well. KDOT is currently studying the problem at that location.

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