Published on Saturday, June 17, 2006
in the Upper Keys Reporter

Accident fatality rate has doubled

There aren’t a whole lot of dangerous roads in the Keys, but then, there aren’t a whole lot of roads except for U.S. 1 where accidents seem to pile up in alarming numbers. Monroe County is headed for more fatalities this year than last, if the number of accidents doesn’t slow down. “In the Keys, the fatality rate has doubled,” said Lt. Pat Santangelo, public affairs officer for the Florida Highway Patrol.

According to Santangelo, there were 23 accident-related deaths in Monroe County during 2005, eight of which happened by mid-May. By mid-May in 2006, there had been 15 deaths. “All of the bad accidents, a vast majority of them, are head-on,” said Santangelo. A fatal crash on the stretch just south of Florida City over Memorial Day weekend was not yet tallied into Santangelo’s statistics.

A 2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser heading northbound drifted over the center line around MM 126, hitting a 2002 Honda heading southbound, killing three people. “There is a real simple solution. It’s so simple, it’s ridiculous,” said Santangelo, “If you put a barrier in the median, you reduce head-on crashes.” Santangelo said that out of 94 fatalities on the Florida Turnpike in 2005, 54 of those were from head-on collisions. After a median was installed, Santangelo says the numbers dropped dramatically.

“The reason I am adamant about medians is we saw with the turnpike the number of fatalities drop as soon as the guard rails went up,” he said. “That was the end of crossover head on collisions.” “Who knows how many people would be kept alive? It became a no-brainer,” said Santangelo. A median is coming to the stretch, but it won’t be completed until December 2012, said Patricia Jones, public information officer for Parsons Brickerhoff Construction Services, Inc., the international engineering firm hired by the Florida Department of Transportation for the Jewfish Creek construction project on the 18-Mile Stretch.

“Historically, nationwide two-way rural highways have the highest fatality rates,” said Jones. One of the construction goals is to improve safety by adding a median and reconstructing passing lanes for the 20,600 cars FDOT estimated will travel the stretch in 2006, said Jones. The $256 million 20-mile long construction project, which is divided into four parts, will slowly snake its way up the stretch starting at MM106 and ending at MM 126.

The first project, at 6.2-miles and $148 million, has already started. The Jewfish Creek bridge, built in 1944, is being replaced at an estimated cost of $93 million with an elevated bridge allowing for 65-feet of vertical clearance from the Intracoastal. Construction on the 1.4-mile long bridge started in April 2005 and is scheduled to finish by mid-2009. “FDOT spends an average of $250,000 a year for maintenance of Jewfish Creek Bridge,” said Jones, “The continual maintenance is a burden to the public. ”It’s also a hassle, explained Jones, because the Jewfish Creek drawbridge often backs up traffic. Jones said there were around 140 rear-end crashes at Jewfish Creek bridge between 1997 and 2001. The second construction project, from MM 113 to MM 117 may begin later this year, said Jones. “We’ll be widening the roadway and putting a bridge over C-111 canal,” said Jones. “There will be about 10-miles of the stretch under construction later this year,” she said. The third and fourth construction projects will extend from MM 117 to MM 121.6 and MM 121.6 through MM 126.7, those are scheduled to start in July 2008 and October 2009. Jones says the finished project will feature a second lane in the northbound direction, which will be marked with a raised pattern to discourage drivers from using it as a passing lane. “It will give room for emergency vehicles and serve as an additional lane for hurricane evacuations,” said Jones. Jones says the improved stretch will have roomier shoulders and special crossings for animals.Meanwhile, motorists are encouraged to slow down, especially Jones says, because the Florida Highway Patrol tours the construction zone and fines are doubled in work areas. “The FDOT instituted what they call a hire-back program,” said Jones, “They pay an FHP officer to patrol our construction zone. ”Santangelo says motorists are being watched not just from the ground, but from above too.

“We use aircrafts to monitor the 18-mile stretch,” said Santangelo, who added that during Memorial Day weekend, more than 400 tickets were issued by air plane details alone. Santangelo says aircrafts pick up speeders and reckless drivers who pass other cars. “Other motorists also report dangerous drivers,” said Santangelo, who explained cell phone users can dial *FHP - or *347 - to alert FHP to roadside breakdowns and hazardous driving. “We’re out there and we’re watching,” said Santangelo.