Sheriff’s office increases presence on Highway 218

MT. PLEASANT — Henry County Sheriff’s Office is teaming up with the Iowa Department of Transportation to create one of six safety corridors across the state over the next year.

“People are dying on Iowa roads at alarming rates,” the Iowa DOT stated in a press release Thursday. “Traffic fatalities in our state this year are more than 13 percent higher than the average number of fatalities over the last five years. One of the keys to reducing fatalities and major crashes is to bring awareness to the problem.”

According to the press release, the stretch of road from U.S. Highway 218 to County Road J-20 (near Salem) is among six areas ranked in the top one percent statewide for all crashes and severe crashes.

“The four-lane highway south of Mt. Pleasant into Lee County is a dangerous highway in Iowa,” Henry County Sheriff Rich McNamee said.

Other areas include U.S. Highway 20 from Lawton to Moville in Woodbury County, U.S. Highway 6 from East of Council Bluffs to U.S. Highway 59 in Pottawattamie County, Interstate 80 from County Road F-48 to Newton in Jasper County, Iowa Highway 5 from Iowa Highway 92 to the Monroe County line in Marion County and Iowa Highway 2 from Donnellson to U.S. Highway 61 in Lee County.

The Iowa DOT states that these areas “…also had a higher number of single-vehicle, run-off-the-road crashes and rear-end crashes at intersections with speeding and distraction as major causes.”

McNamee echoed these sentiments when he stated that driving too fast, distracted driving, and running off the road to the left and right were major contributing factors to the increased danger on the stretch of Highway 218 in Henry County.

“We have seen speeds and distraction behind the wheel rise and only 40 percent of those who die on Iowa’s roads are wearing a seatbelt,” Iowa DOT Director Scott Marler explained. “Unfortunately, our state’s climbing fatality rates are showing the consequences of our individual decisions behind the wheel. We all have someone who is expecting us to return from each trip safely. Creating safety corridors is just another way the DOT can help remind drivers of the role they play in making sure everyone returns home safely.”

According to the Iowa DOT, they are partnering with the Iowa State Patrol and local law enforcement to increase enforcement in these areas.

“We are trying to crack down in that area,” McNamee said. “Starting with speed enforcement and control enforcement.”

In an effort to make a difference, McNamee says Henry County deputies have approval for up to 10 hours of overtime a month for the next 11 months to, “…specifically do enforcement in those miles of roadway.”

“We’re going to do some enforcement down there and see what difference we can make,” McNamee said.

In addition to increased presence from local and state law enforcement, McNamee says he has also seen extra grading done by the Iowa DOT and signage warning that this stretch of road is dangerous.

According to the Iowa DOT and McNamee, “Pavement markings in those areas have been widened to help drivers more easily see them in low-light and inclement weather.”

Finally, this partnership between the DOT and law enforcement will include educating and communicating with the public through the year to “…help remind drivers that practicing good driving behaviors can make the area safer.”

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com