PORT ANGELES – A highway safety project that was borne out of a series of fatal wrecks officially ended Tuesday in the wake of two more fatal crashes.
The grant-funded Highway 101 Safety Corridor Project group held a final meeting of representatives of local law enforcement agencies, the state Department of Transportation, the state Traffic Safety Commission and other state agencies and groups.
Although the state Traffic Safety Commission funding for the 2½-year program is ending, Clallam County participants, chaired by Sheriff Bill Benedict, agreed to keep the “Driving 101” signs posted, maintain safety programs in schools and blood drives in the community and keep meeting quarterly to promote safety along the 32-mile corridor in central Clallam.
Meeting in the Clallam County Courthouse, the project members reviewed data showing that their efforts paid off.
Collisions, both serious and minor, were reduced in the past 27 months on the designated stretch of U.S. 101 between state Highway 112 on the west and the Clallam-Jefferson counties’ line to the east.
But a day billed as a celebration was instead a reminder of the work still to be done.
Two men died on the highway stretch in the last 10 days, and a woman has been in a Seattle hospital for nearly a month as the result of a third crash.
“If anything, it reiterates the need to pay attention when driving,” said Jim Borte, who coordinated the safety project through the Clallam County Sheriff’s Department.
“Traffic is a part of everyone’s lives.”
