Date:  Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Contact:
Dave Chesson, WSDOT Communications, 360-757-5970 (Burlington))
Mark Hammer, Project Engineer, 360-757-5832 (Mount Vernon)

FERNDALE – The rumble of driving over rumble strips can be annoying or take you by surprise. But if you were distracted and drifting off the road at the time, they just might save your life. Running off the road is a serious hazard for drivers, and for the bicyclists and pedestrians that depend on our highway shoulders for travel.

Starting next week, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will install five miles of rumble strips on State Route 548 between Vista Drive and Kickerville Road to help keep drivers on the road.

Shoulder rumble strips are designed to alert drivers as they drift out of their lane. Grooves are placed perpendicular to the direction of travel and as a vehicle passes over the rumble strips, noise and vibration alert motorists.

Research shows that shoulder rumble strips are a cost-effective solution that can dramatically reduce often fatal and serious-injury collisions. Run-off-the-road collisions account for 18 percent of collisions but 30 percent of fatalities statewide. An evaluation of rumble strips installed in Washington found they reduced run-off-the-road collisions by 40 percent.

Motorists can expect lane closures on SR 548 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. for two to four days, beginning Monday, May, 2. Flaggers will direct traffic through the one open lane. Local residents might hear the operation, though it will be moving at a steady pace along the highway in both directions. This work is weather dependent and will be rescheduled if it rains.

Please visit wsdot.wa.gov/Design/Policy/RumbleStrips.htm to learn about rumble strips.

WSDOT awarded this $59,562 contract to Stripe Rite, Inc. in February. As part of this project, crews are also installing rumble strips in King County along SR 516.

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