In response to citizen concerns regarding rumble strips on Highway 61 in Cook County, the Minnesota Department of Transportation sent out a news release this week announcing that it will resume work filling in centerline rumble strips on Highway 61 in Cook and Lake counties in July. Motorists may encounter temporary, single lane closures while the work is under way.
MnDOT began filling some of the centerline rumble strips last fall after hearing from numerous local residents who complained that the rumble strips created too much noise. MnDOT representatives said crews will fill in all of the centerline rumble strips in Lake County, and also all of the centerline rumble strips in Cook County except those located north of Grand Portage where there aren’t any adjacent homes.
“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.”
MnDOT is reviewing its centerline rumble strip policy, including criteria on where centerline rumble strips should be/should not be installed and is researching the effectiveness of other rumble strip designs that have less of a noise impact.
According to MnDOT, the agency conducted noise analysis testing on Highway 61 last fall. A draft report of the noise analysis suggests that the centerline rumble strip design that was installed along Highway 61 created a sound that was louder than had been measured at other installations.
“We will defer installation of centerline rumble strip on new projects in District 1 until all research is complete,” said Duane Hill, MnDOT District 1 engineer. “However, we firmly believe in the safety benefits of centerline rumble strips and if a product becomes available that we believe meets our safety criteria and has acceptable noise levels we will begin installing them.”
Rumble strips are designed to reduce the chance of crossover and run-off-the-road crashes. Last year, in the eight-county area that encompasses MnDOT District 1, 39 percent of fatal and serious injury lane departure crashes were run-off-the road on the right side of the highway. The other 61 percent of lane departure crashes involved crossing the centerline.
“The Highway 61 centerline rumble strip discussion has helped MnDOT better understand the impacts of rumble strips on local residents,” said Hill. “What we have learned will help us implement safety improvements in a way that minimizes quality-of-life impacts to local residents.”
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