pjessen
Nov 17th, 2005, 7:06 pm
Many of you have ridden this highway in SW Colorado. It will be interesting to see if it works.
Car-wildlife wrecks illuminated
CDOT to test special lighting along a risky stretch of U.S. 160. The pilot project is designed to shine a spotlight on animals near the pavement, making drivers aware of the hazards and encouraging them to slow down.
By Electa Draper
Denver Post Staff Writer (edraper@denverpost.com)
Durango - One of the state's most dangerous stretches of highway for wildlife-vehicle collisions, U.S. 160 between Durango and Bayfield, will be the testing ground for a first-of-its-kind safety system of special lighting.
Colorado Department of Transportation engineer Mike Vaughn said the research project is unique in the country. The idea is to illuminate the animals with motion-sensing light-emitting diodes mounted on roadside poles 8 to 10 feet high. The lights will turn on when wild animals move along the pavement.
Vaughn said he hopes the illumination will make drivers aware of the hazards and encourage them to slow down.
Maintenance workers began clearing brush Wednesday on a 3-mile stretch of U.S. 160 west of Gem Village. The lights will go up after CDOT completes its study of various motion-detection systems.
CDOT has $100,000 in federal research funds and $25,000 in state funds for the project.
As part of the pilot project, CDOT will clear only brush along a second section to compare its effectiveness against clearing and lighting. Monitoring of the test sections will continue for two to three years, depending on how long it takes to get data to draw statistically valid conclusions, CDOT said.
Wildlife-vehicle collisions are a significant problem in Colorado and nationwide. In 2003, the last year for which statistics were available, CDOT reported 300 injury-causing crashes and 3,600 property-damaging crashes involving wild animals on Colorado roads.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that accidents involving animals cause an average of 200 deaths a year nationwide.
Roadway fencing is known to be effective, but it is costly and interferes with the migration of wild animals, even promoting inbreeding, CDOT officials said.
"High fencing is really hard on animal populations," says Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman Joe Lewandowski in Durango. "Fences really disrupt their cycles. The DOW helped with the planning of this lighting project, but we have no idea how it will work out.
"The idea is to get people to slow down."
Car-wildlife wrecks illuminated
CDOT to test special lighting along a risky stretch of U.S. 160. The pilot project is designed to shine a spotlight on animals near the pavement, making drivers aware of the hazards and encouraging them to slow down.
By Electa Draper
Denver Post Staff Writer (edraper@denverpost.com)
Durango - One of the state's most dangerous stretches of highway for wildlife-vehicle collisions, U.S. 160 between Durango and Bayfield, will be the testing ground for a first-of-its-kind safety system of special lighting.
Colorado Department of Transportation engineer Mike Vaughn said the research project is unique in the country. The idea is to illuminate the animals with motion-sensing light-emitting diodes mounted on roadside poles 8 to 10 feet high. The lights will turn on when wild animals move along the pavement.
Vaughn said he hopes the illumination will make drivers aware of the hazards and encourage them to slow down.
Maintenance workers began clearing brush Wednesday on a 3-mile stretch of U.S. 160 west of Gem Village. The lights will go up after CDOT completes its study of various motion-detection systems.
CDOT has $100,000 in federal research funds and $25,000 in state funds for the project.
As part of the pilot project, CDOT will clear only brush along a second section to compare its effectiveness against clearing and lighting. Monitoring of the test sections will continue for two to three years, depending on how long it takes to get data to draw statistically valid conclusions, CDOT said.
Wildlife-vehicle collisions are a significant problem in Colorado and nationwide. In 2003, the last year for which statistics were available, CDOT reported 300 injury-causing crashes and 3,600 property-damaging crashes involving wild animals on Colorado roads.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that accidents involving animals cause an average of 200 deaths a year nationwide.
Roadway fencing is known to be effective, but it is costly and interferes with the migration of wild animals, even promoting inbreeding, CDOT officials said.
"High fencing is really hard on animal populations," says Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman Joe Lewandowski in Durango. "Fences really disrupt their cycles. The DOW helped with the planning of this lighting project, but we have no idea how it will work out.
"The idea is to get people to slow down."