Officials look to curb accidents on fatality-riddled highway

MATTAWA — Manuel Ornelas is concerned about an increase in deaths and injuries on the roads near his home.

Ornelas is president of the Mattawa Area Chamber of Commerce, and he is one of many area residents who has seen a sharp rise in fatal and serious injury collisions on a stretch of Highway 243 that surrounds the town. The group is specifically targeting an area within a few miles of Road 24 SW where, according to Washington State Patrol memos, four people have died in three collisions since May 1. That number is a change for the Washington State Department of Transportation, whose statistics show six fatalities in five fatal collisions along the entire 28-mile highway from 2002 to 2004.

"It's something that we see that's going to get worse over time," Ornelas said.

Ornelas has seen an increase in accidents, but he also sees a concern in an increase in traffic congestion along the roadway. Ornelas added that the chamber wants to prevent accidents from getting out of hand, especially during the hours before and after school when school busses travel the road.

That's why he and his fellow chamber members met last week with state WSDOT and WSP officials to try and come up with a solution to reduce collisions. They have formed a committee to study the cause of the issue, and have already targeted a half-dozen highway intersections they see as problematic.

Jennene Ring is a traffic engineer with WSDOT in Wenatchee and said her agency was approached after the rise in serious crashes along the road. Ring said the group has talked about finding potential solutions, such as increased signage on the road, education and increased enforcement by local law enforcement agencies.

While her office is in the process of compiling accident data along the road, Ring said she has already ordered crossroad warning signs for the intersections surrounding Road 24 SW. "Significantly larger" stop signs have also been ordered by WSDOT officials for the intersection at Road 24 SW, a road targeted as the most dangerous by the local chamber.

The intersection of Road 24 SW has been seen as the most serious, but officials also are looking to curb accidents along a handful of other Highway 243 crossings on either side of it.

"There's accidents up and down that route that should be reviewed," Ring said of Highway 243.

State agencies like WSDOT do often get involved on local stretches of road, but Ring said the focus really requires involvement from the community.

That community involvement has been secured by local officials like Ornelas. With signs scheduled to be installed at crossings in mid-August, officials have plans to meet again and discuss the issue.

"It's bad already," he said, "and we don't want it to get any higher."