Safer Solano County route a goal of STA

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Safer route a goal of STA
By Erin Pursell/Staff Writer
TheReporter.Com
Article Launched:12/07/2006 07:01:01 AM PST
Specific steps to kick-start safety improvements on a perilous stretch of Highway 12 are planned by local transportation and safety officials.

The steps, to make safer the two lanes of highway between Suisun City and Rio Vista on which 30 people have died in the last 10 years, were presented Tuesday to Solano County Supervisors by the Solano Transportation Authority.

A collaborative safety plan being conceived by the STA, Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol is just one of the steps toward improving safety on the highway.

Other steps pertain to traffic and travel data, signage and law enforcement.

'What we're seeing is that the number of accidents went from less than state average to at or above state average,' said STA Project Manager Janet Adams, citing traffic data from the last few years.

Officials have grappled for years with how to improve safety on the narrow stretch of highway, and pressure to make the fixes continues to mount as traffic steadily increases.

'We are projecting that traffic is expected to double before 2030 on State Route 12,' Adams said, noting heavy truck traffic. 'It may create the need for median barrier enhancements and shoulders.'
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