New “Safety Corridors” appear along Iowa’s deadliest highways

DES MOINES, Iowa – Fatal crashes on Iowa roads are 13 percent higher this year when compared to the average. Now, the Iowa Department of Transportation and Iowa State Patrol are teaming up to change that. New “Safety Corridors” are coming to Iowa’s deadliest stretches of the road.

Benjamin Hucker with the Iowa Department of Transportation said, “There’s an assumed number of crashes for every type of roadway that’s just kind of average we assume. These roadways ranked far above that. These roadways stood out and there was more crashes on here than we would have expected.”

Benjamin Hucker says the type of terrain you’re driving on doesn’t make a difference.

“There’s quite a mix actually. So some are a little curvier or hillier that are a little more challenging certainly, but there’s some that are wide open and flat and those are some of the most perplexing. It’s wide open and flat, you know what is it that’s challenging drivers other than perhaps boredom?” Hucker said.

Hucker says Iowa DOT is painting the lines on the road a bit bigger so they stand out more to drivers. Also – New signs are up in the safety corridors.

“The idea when drivers see those reminds them ‘Hey drive, you know, put an extra focus on driving. Drive safely, buckle up, put the phone down,’ that kind of thing,” Hucker said.

Iowa State Patrol says they’re helping out in the project too.

Sergeant Alex Dinkla said, “We all know that every single one of these fatalities it’s somebody’s family member, friend, friend, loved one, coworker. These affect communities. These affect families and if we can prevent another fatality from happening, that’s our mission and that’s our goal out here..”

Dinkla says if you’re not careful, you could see blue lights in your rearview mirror.

“We’re going to be out there all year long along with many other law enforcement. Whether it’s city, county, our state officials. We’re going to be out there working those zones,” Dinkla said.

The signage for the safety corridors is already up. Now, state patrol asks that you buckle up, put your phone down, and drive safely.

The Safety Corridors are located:

• U.S. 20 from Lawton to Moville in Woodbury County
• U.S. 6 from East of Council Bluffs to US 59 in Pottawattamie County
• I-80 from County Road F-48 to Newton in Jasper County
• Iowa 5 from Iowa 92 to the Monroe County line in Marion County
• U.S. 218 from Mt. Pleasant to County Road J-20 (near Salem) in Henry County
• Iowa 2 from Donnellson to U.S. 61 in Lee County

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