News From
State Representative Ron
Stephens
For Immediate Release: May 28, 2009
Contact: Rep. Stephens
618-651-0405
Rep. Stephens’ Resolution calling for a Cable
Barrier Study for the Martin Luther King Bridge passes the House
House Joint Resolution 7 was introduced earlier this year in
response to the rising number of fatal accidents on the two narrow bridges. Cable
barriers have been successfully used along many highways, and Rep. Stephens
wants to know if they might be of help along the
“It is well past time to pay attention to these two bridges and the high number of fatal accidents that seem to take place upon them,” Stephens said. “The cable barriers being discussed have worked very well on our highways and might prove successful on these bridges. We won’t know until this feasibility study is completed.”
The resolution which requests
that IDOT conduct a study on the feasibility of expanding the use of cable
barriers in Illinois and report its findings and recommendations to the General
Assembly in no later than six months from the adoption of the resolution.
In the recent past,
Stephens has been a proponent for cable barriers. Last year, Stephens was able to pass a measure
calling for the installation of cable barriers along a stretch of Interstate 64
near O’Fallon,
“The Missouri Department of Transportation has reported some outstanding statistics about how median guard cables on their state’s busiest highways are responsible for bringing the total number of crossover fatalities down” Rep. Stephens explained. “If these barriers can bring that same level of safety to this notoriously dangerous bridge, I would welcome them.”
In 2008, MoDOT reported that the total number of crossover deaths had fallen from 55 to only two in the previous year.
The resolution passed in the House with a vote of 117-0-0 and takes effect immediately.
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