VDOT speed study result – no speed limit change on Route 55 East

During his monthly “state of the roads” report of November 7, VDOT Program Manager Ed Carter told county officials that as a result of its speed study of Route 55 East (John Marshall Highway) in the vicinity of the mountain subdivision High Knob entrance, the speed limit there will not be changed.

A lower speed limit was one of several suggested measures to mitigate what has been a dangerous traffic situation at the High Knob entrance for some time.  However, in the wake of the VDOT speed study finding that decreased speed could create more problems than solutions on one of the major entranceways to the Town of Front Royal other options must be considered.

Safety options discussed during an October 2 presentation of VDOT’s STARS Route 55 Corridor Study ranged from a high-end, $32-million road expansion program adding turn lanes; to a lower-end $2.4-million expenditure on an improved electronic road signage warning system.

The current speed limit through that part of Route 55 East/John Marshall Highway is 55 mph with approach signs warning “Slow Down to 45 mph”, “Watch for Turning Traffic” and “High Knob entrance 500 feet” posted in each direction.

‘Watch for turning vehicles – 45 mph’ sign approaching High Knob from town – Photos/Roger Bianchini

Carter, who made the October 2 STARS corridor study report to the supervisors, observed then that lower speed limits are not always the answer for a variety of reasons related to human nature.  Those reasons range from the fact that “people tend to drive at the speed they are comfortable with” to simple driver inattentiveness.

“Solutions don’t work if people aren’t paying attention,” Carter told the supervisors last month of any approach eventually decided upon by the county government and VDOT.

Looking east toward Linden from the High Knob entrance

Driver inattentiveness is a serious issue on the approaches to High Knob, complicated as they are westbound from Linden by a blind hill approach to the entrance, and from the east and Front Royal by a looping curved approach.

The most promising and cheapest, if perhaps not easiest to achieve, option discussed in the wake of Carter’s October corridor study review was increased driver attentiveness.  Six High Knob residents spoke during the public concerns portion of the October 2 Warren County Board of Supervisors meeting following Carter’s summary of the STARS Route 55 Corridor Study.

Looking west toward Front Royal from the High Knob entrance

All six speakers agreed that speed and driver awareness were primary safety issues; and all six pled for county government and VDOT help in mitigating what all agreed is a life-threatening situation.  Those speakers were Jim Coats, Barbara Gimber, Jay Buckner, Laurie Oaks, Chris Estes and Merry Lynn Sheetz.

Sheetz pointed out that she still suffers from the aftermath of spine and brain injuries suffered in a 2010 accident at the High Knob entrance.

Looking toward Rt. 55 East exiting High Knob – Photos/Roger Bianchini

As for improved signage to help with driver inattentiveness, one solution on that lower-end cost-wise that Carter pointed to last month was installation of a situational “slow down – traffic backup ahead” warning sign system.  Carter noted that constantly flashing slow-down warning lights were not as effective because over time drivers tend to become “oblivious” to them.

Enforcement of traffic offenses in the area have also been a problem.  One difficulty cited by county officials in traffic enforcement in the area is a lack of shoulder space where law enforcement monitoring posts could be set up and motorists driving recklessly can safely be pulled over.

“The lack of ability to enforce there has been an issue,” County Administrator Doug Stanley observed on October 2.

As for acquiring State funding for any solution, Carter previously told county officials he did not anticipate the Warren County Route 55 Corridor project would score well competitively statewide.  County Administrator Stanley noted that the last time the County had applied for such project funding it had scored “near the bottom” on a statewide priority list – “That’s why we didn’t re-apply this time,” Stanley observed.

So, while the county government and VDOT try to maneuver for funding access and a road-oriented solution that is financially feasible, all of us who drive John Marshall Highway or any road in our community with access and egress points can help by just paying attention to the road and warning signs.

Why not?

The 1970 Doors album ‘Morrison Hotel’ from which some good driving advice in the song ‘Roadhouse Blues’ came – ‘Keep your eyes on the road; your hands upon the wheel’

As Jim Morrison once advised in The Doors song “Roadhouse Blues”, “Keep your eyes on the road; your hands upon the wheel.”

Of course cell phones and texting didn’t exist when Morrison sang “Roadhouse Blues in 1970.  So lock the cell phones in the trunk if need be, because quality of life and even life itself – there have been traffic fatalities on this stretch of road in the past – are at stake here.

Just ask Merry Lynn Sheetz.

At October 2 supervisors meeting Merry Lynn Sheetz recounted her own personal nightmare with the consequences of a collision while trying to access her High Knob neighborhood.