Cook County commissioners listened intently as representatives from the Minnesota Department of Transportation came before the board on April 9 with an announcement that they are about to embark on placing rumble strips on the shoulders of Highway 61 this summer.
Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) plans to install shoulder rumble strips on highways with paved shoulders four feet wide or greater to increase safety by preventing run off the road crashes on highways with speed limits 55 mph or greater.
If the construction phase holds true, shoulder rumble strips will be installed in Cook County August 19 to September 13.
The day after the county board meeting Morrie Luke, an assistant traffic engineer with MnDOT, said, “We are adding them (rumble strips) in the gaps where we currently do not have any on Highway 61.”
Luke said MnDOT has not received any complaints about the current rumble strips placed on the shoulders of Highway 61.
This season 31.3 miles of standard rumble strips and 10.5 miles of sinusoidal rumble strips will be placed on Highway 61 shoulders in Cook County, with 16 miles in the east end of the county that will be installed at a future date.
“Sinusoidal rumble strips are quieter. We call them ‘mumble strips,’” Luke said, adding they would be placed in areas close to where people lived.
The mere thought of rumble strips had many people immediately worried. MnDOT has gone down this road before, installing rumble strips on the center line of Highway 61in 2013 and then filling them in the next year.
In a June 5, 2014 press release MnDOT announced it would fill in centerline rumble strips on Highway 61 in Cook County and Lake counties after hearing “from numerous local residents who complained that the rumble strips created too much noise.”
That news release also pointed out, “Housing density along the North Shore is much different than on most rural highways,” said Jim Miles, MnDOT District 1 acting traffic engineer. “To passing motorists, it looks as if there aren’t many homes along the highway. In reality, the housing density is comparable to suburban neighborhoods. Considering this, and the mix of tourist and local traffic, which leads to increased passing and driving over the centerline rumble strips, we decided to fill them in.”
Rumble strips are designed to reduce the chance of cross-over and run-off-the-road crashes.
After MnDOT filled in the centerline rumble strips Duane Hill, MnDOT District 1 engineer said, “The Highway 61 centerline rumble strip discussion has helped MnDOT better understand the impacts of rumble strips on local residents. What we have learned will help us implement safety improvements in a way that minimizes quality-of-life impacts to local residents.”
Luke reaffirmed Hill’s words, saying MnDOT learned a lot from the 2013- 2014 project, and rumble strips have been made much quieter. When asked if there would be any public meetings to discuss this project, he said MnDOT has no plans at this time to hold any public meetings.
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