MONROE — Jay Prueher is tired of careless drivers along U.S. 2.
In July 2007, the Gold Bar man was on a motorcycle waiting for a green light along the highway in Sultan when he was struck from behind by a car. Prueher suffered serious injuries and spent days at a hospital.
“My life has changed forever,” Prueher said.
Fatal crashes along the highway make headlines, but thousands more injury collisions happen on the road, Prueher said Tuesday at a meeting organized by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
State data shows that 4,698 collisions occurred along U.S. 2 between Everett and Stevens Pass from 1999 to 2007. Of those collisions, 156 resulted in disabling injuries or deaths. The data supplied Tuesday by the state Department of Transportation did not specify how many of those accidents were fatal.
The new data also does not allow for a direct comparison with U.S. 2’s most notorious statistic. Since 1999, 48 people have died in crashes and accidents between Snohomish and Stevens Pass, a third in crossover crashes along the narrow, winding highway.
The new data covers a 65-mile stretch, including the heavily traveled U.S. 2 trestle near Everett where the highway is divided and has four lanes.
The transportation department is using the data between Everett and Stevens Pass because that’s the stretch of the road recently designated by the state as a safety corridor, said Meghan Soptich, a spokeswoman for the department.
In terms of collision rates, U.S. 2 is similar to other rural highways in the state, but it is long and its problems spread out, Soptich said.
That makes it more challenging and costly to fix, she said.
The state estimates that the highway needs $2 billion in improvements between Snohomish and Skykomish.
About 30 people attended the meeting at the Monroe Family YMCA to brainstorm ideas to make the highway safer. In March, state officials designated the highway as a safety corridor, making federal money available for engineering, enforcement and education efforts for U.S. 2.
“We are very focused on short-term, low-cost solutions,” said Angie Ward, a spokeswoman for the traffic safety commission.
Prueher, who is now a Gold Bar councilman, emphasized that it’s drivers who cause accidents.
“People are not paying attention on U.S. 2,” he said. “I don’t care what it takes to get their attention. We’ve got to get their attention.”
Prueher and others suggested making paper sleeves for coffee cups with safety messages and adding new safety signs along the road this summer.
Meanwhile, the state is set to install centerline rumble strips along the 40 miles of the highway between east of Monroe and Stevens Pass. The divots in the middle of the highway are expected to prevent crossover crashes. The $4 million project is expected to be complete this summer.
The state Legislature this year decided to allocate $10 million for other safety projects on U.S. 2. On Monday, about 30 people discussed how to spend the money at the meeting of the U.S. 2 Safety Coalition, a group made up of local residents and officials.
Some drivers go too fast and pass others along the narrow, winding highway, said Al White of Gold Bar.
“What we need to do is to make the whole highway no pass,” said White, 62.
A few people said they want to shut down traffic access from Sultan-Startup Road to U.S. 2 and vice versa. The intersection just east of Sultan is considered dangerous because it has no turn lanes or pockets.
Another project, recommended by state transportation experts, drew harsh criticism. The project would add a passing lane west of Sultan. Nobody has died along the mile stretch of the highway where the project is proposed. But in the six miles between Sultan and Monroe, there have been several crossover crashes that were either fatal or resulted in injury.
“No passing lane out of Sultan,” said Ray Coleman, raising his voice.
Improving the stretch of road where no deaths have occurred is not a smart way to use money, said Coleman of Gold Bar.
“We’ve got more important safety features,” he said.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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