The Michigan Department of Transportation says adding a third lane to Interstate 94 throughout Southwest Michigan would not prevent enough accidents to justify the cost. MDOT released a report Monday on conditions on I-94 between Jackson and the Indiana border. A massive pile-up near Galesburg last winter prompted the audit.
MDOT says it has many ideas for improving winter safety on the road. But engineer Brad Wieferich says the state can only afford to add lanes sparingly.
“When we consider widening to three lanes we’re going to target very specific locations where we know there’s going to be a major impact,” he says.
That includes an expansion already complete on I-94 between 9th Street and Lovers’ Lane in Kalamazoo County. MDOT also plans to eventually add another lane between Lovers’ Lane and Sprinkle Road.
The agency says an analysis of the pile-up site shows it’s not a hotspot for accidents. Southwest MDOT’s Steve Brink told reporters that poor weather, rather than the road itself, led to the accident.
“In the crash, there is a hill, and then a valley, and then a hill, and we have white-out conditions. So people approaching the crash couldn’t see what was ahead of them,” he says.
The state ticketed 58 people who crashed for excessive speed under the conditions. Drivers will see billboards along I-94 this winter encouraging them to slow down when roads are bad.
