A section of Roosevelt Drive where there have been a number of head-on crashes in recent weeks may at least get new safety signs.
It’s a short-term solution that was put on the table last week during a meeting between representatives from the state Department of Transportation, the Valley Council of Governments and Derby police.
Those three groups are reviewing an approximate one-mile stretch of Roosevelt Drive between Cullen’s Hill and Lakeview Terrace on Derby’s west side.
The road’s geography rules out any major structural changes.
It’s an unforgiving, curvy stretch of road. There’s a rock outcropping and a large retaining wall on one side and a steep cliff to the Housatonic River on the other.
In other words, no road shoulder on either side.
Three people have died in crashes on that stretch of road since 2010. Valley residents have repeatedly complained on the Valley Indy Facebook page that speeding is an issue on the road.
The most recent crash happened Friday, Nov. 23. It was a head-on crash and one of the vehicles caught fire.
According to a police report, a 56-year-old Danbury woman in a Volkswagen Jetta was traveling west on Roosevelt Drive when she crossed the double yellow line and crashed head on into a Subaru Forrester being driven by a Seymour man.
The Jetta’s driver could not explain why she crossed the line into oncoming traffic.
Possible Fixes
Valley COG Executive Director Rick Dunne said the state DOT is considering installing large black and yellow arrow signs so motorists are aware of the turns in the road.
In addition, Dunne and Valley COG have suggested the DOT explore installing “rumble strips” in the middle of the road. The idea is that a driver will be alerted by the rumbling road that they’re drifting out of their lane.
“Part of the problem is that because of the cliff on the side of the road, you can’t see ahead. So if a car has crossed over into your lane, you really don’t know it until it’s on you,” Dunne said.
The stretch of road has killed two people in 2012 in 13 crashes.
Dunne said the DOT is hesitant to install rumble strips because they’re loud. However, there are no residences along Roosevelt Drive in the precarious section that features rock outcroppings and a retaining wall.
In addition, the DOT is considering relining reflective pavement markings on the road.
The DOT and Derby police are sharing several years of accident data to see if a pattern can be found among the wrecks.
Derby PD is also seeing if they can raise their visibility along that stretch of the road as well. A cruiser can’t sit along some sections of the road because there is simply no room to park a car.
Finally, the Derby Fire Department is figuring out a better way to re-route traffic when Roosevelt Drive is shut down due to a serious crash.
Tractor-trailer trucks often use Cullen’s Hill Road to Hawthorne Avenue as a way to get around crashes on Roosevelt Drive. However, Cullen’s Hill is, essentially, a one-lane road.
Tractor-trailers are apt to ensnare utility wires or slide down embankments on the narrow road.
Dunne said a short-term solution is to “sideline” tractor-trailers when Roosevelt Drive is closed. That is, make the vehicles wait on the side of the road until it opens, as opposed to funneling the large trucks up the hard-to-navigate side streets.
State DOT data released to the Valley Indy in November show there were 27 crashes between Cullen’s Hill and Lakeview Terrace between 2007 and 2011 — which makes the 13 in 2012 alone all the more alarming.
Meanwhile, 2011 DOT data shows 11,300 vehicles a day passed between the two-mile stretch of Route 34 between the Derby-Seymour town line and Derby’s North Avenue (the Dew Drop Inn and Apollo Pizza).
DOT data from the crashes on Roosevelt Drive between 2007 and 2011 show speed tied for first place as the most common underlying factor contributing to the wrecks.
Speed was cited in six of the 27 crashes — as was “animal or other obstruction” in the roadway. Of the six animal-triggered crashes, four involved deer.
The most recent crashes on Roosevelt Drive did not involve animals in the roadway.
