The Hernando County Department of Public Works (DPW) announces that the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) approved $552,000 for the design, construction and installation of warning devices to bring curves on 10 rural roadways into compliance with the latest guidelines set forth by the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). Warning devices include such things as speed advisory signage, roadway striping and reflective pavement markers.
“We have some of the most beautiful rural roads in the state,” Commissioner Jim Adkins said. “I support pursuing every opportunity that will cut back on accidents making safer roadways for our residents and visitors.”
Construction activities have commenced on the following roads and will be underway for the next few months.
- CR 595 – Osowaw Boulevard
- CR 493 – Sunshine Grove Road
- CR 491 – Citrus Way
- CR 484 – Fort Dade Avenue
- CR 480 – Croom Road
- CR 485 – Mondon Hill Road
- CR 439 – Lingle Road
- Lockhart Road
- CR 572 – Powell Road
- CR 420 – Hayman Road
The Federal Highway Administration reports that approximately 60 percent of highway fatalities nationwide occur on rural roads. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, established a new initiative under the Highway Safety Improvement Program known as the High Risk Rural Roads Program (HRRRP).
In a two step process, states are required to identify high risk rural roads as a function of fatal and serious injury crash rates and to analyze the highway safety problems which may exist on these roads. Dedicated federal highway safety funds are made available from the HRRRP through the FDOT. This funding is for specific safety countermeasures aimed at correcting or improving the identified hazardous locations or roadway features on qualifying rural roads. Eligible roads include rural major connectors, rural minor connectors and rural local roads.
As part of step one of the prescribed HRRRP process, FDOT annually identifies qualifying rural roadways by analyzing available crash report and traffic volume databases to determine fatal and incapacitating injury crash rates for eligible roads statewide. Roadways having a fatal plus incapacitating injury crash rate above the statewide average for two-lane rural roads qualify as potential locations for the application of HRRRP funds.
In 2009, the FDOT in conjunction with DPW staff conducted a Road Safety Audit as part of the HRRRP. This audit was the precipice for a 2012 Curve Study Technical Memorandum that included the performance of curve studies on 13 county roadways to determine if advisory speeds within the curves were appropriately set and to determine if they met current standards and guidelines.
The foundation laid by these studies provided for Hernando County’s eligibility to apply for HRRRP funding to bring the curves into compliance with the latest guidelines as set forth by the MUTCD.