More drivers mean more crashes
CHENEY – Growing numbers of commuters on state Highway 904 into Cheney are slightly raising the total numbers of collisions, according to state Department of Transportation officials.
“Total crashes have been creeping upward, but no fatal crashes lately,” said Matthew Enders, a traffic services manager with the DOT in Olympia.
In step with Cheney’s rapidly expanding population, the two-lane highway now sees between 11,000 to 16,000 commuters daily, even up to 18,000 on busier days. Many commuters are students and faculty rushing to be punctual for classes at Eastern Washington University.
Traffic often backs up on the 8-mile stretch of highway from Four Lakes to Cheney. The most common accidents include those caused by driver inattention that leads to rear-ending and running off the road, said officials with the Eastern Region DOT office in Spokane.
“Any errors they make are unfortunate because there is a high volume of traffic on the roadway,” said Harold White, a DOT maintenance and traffic engineer. White noted the volume of traffic is the main concern on the highway, but said the road meets state regulations.
The Washington State Patrol hasn’t noticed an increase in accidents, said Trooper Jeff Sevigney.
When five people were killed on the highway in 2002, the city began an initiative that sparked a series of safety improvements in 2003. The improvements added rumble strips, left-hand turn lanes, extra lighting and increased law enforcement.
By 2006, the highway was largely free of fatal and serious-injury collisions and continues to have less-serious accidents today.
A DOT route development plan to widen the highway to five lanes has been on the back burner for four years, losing priority to more urgent projects using money allocated by the Legislature.
“We’ve identified it as a need in our system plan, but at this time it hasn’t raised up in priority far enough for the (state) legislature to fund at this time,” said Al Gilson, a DOT public information officer in Spokane.
The project was estimated to cost $14 million in 2003, but will likely cost much more with today’s prices. The plans would add two lanes on either side of the highway, along with a center lane.
Cheney Public Works Director Don MacDonald said in an e-mail that launching a project would involve the effort of the city of Cheney, EWU, Spokane County, the DOT and Spokane Transit Authority.
The city would be willing to work at bringing those forces together, MacDonald added. Their main concern is the continuing increase of commuters.