The "Terwilliger curves" is the name given for 1.7 miles (2.7 km), the six-lane Interstate 5 (I-5) section in Portland, Oregon, known as one of the most dangerous series of state highways. Named for its physical characteristics and proximity to Terwilliger Boulevard, it first opened in 1961 and was quickly recognized for its high accident rate. Some improvements, reduced speed limits, and increased efforts to enforce traffic laws have improved safety over the years, although accidents are still common.
Video Terwilliger curves
Characteristics
The Terwilliger curve consists of less than two miles (3.2 km) of I-5 between the Willamette River and Southwest Portland cliffs. This area is depicted on most media accounts as it covers 1.7 miles (2.7 km) from 26 Avenue to Iowa Street, although several sources place it between Spring Garden and Iowa streets. In 2005, the average 132,603 ​​driver passed the curve every day.
The curve of the road changes "five times more than a mile [1.6 km]", and the condition is increasingly complicated by the speeding driver, the high center of gravity in modern vehicles (especially SUVs), "bad curve curves", and accumulated rainfall which sometimes happens. According to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) engineering manager, Walt Bartel, the curve is "just an I-5 overlay where you can not see far enough ahead to drive safer faster than 55 [mph (90 km/h)]".
Maps Terwilliger curves
Reputation
The Terwilliger's curve is "notorious" for being one of I-5's "I-5's most vulnerable crashes" in Oregon, and "flash point for crashes, congestion and frustrated commuters". ODOT traffic safety data from 1991 to 1993 found the Terwilliger curve had 272 accidents for 1.15 accidents per 1 million vehicle travel miles (0.71 accidents per 1 million km). A later study showed there was an average of 100 accidents per year between 1995 and 2005. The phrase "Terwilliger curve" appears to have been used first by The Oregonian in a January 1988 report that recorded three car accidents on a foggy Sunday. This term has since been adopted to name a pure race horse and an indie rock band.
Construction and upgrades
The current roadblock called the Terwilliger curve was first proposed as the I-5 "end segment" in Oregon in the early 1950s, during the period of time when the completion of the Interstate Highway System sparked competition among state governments. Constrained by "steep cliffs and unstable ground", preventing a straight line through hills, Oregon state highway engineer RH "Sam" Baldock recommended a "winding course" to the state panel in 1952. Though not an ideal path according to the guidelines federal, "intense" pressure exists to reduce the burden near Barbur Boulevard. Baldock suggested that panels should "act quickly" or real estate developers would "take" the property, and relevant authorities agreed to move forward.
1960s to early 1990s
In the early 1970s, state highway engineers reported that the rate of accidents in the area exceeds the state average by 50 percent, stating that one of the "five worst sections" for road accidents in the state. Between the 1970s and early 1990s, the state installed concrete separators, entrances and exits, and added fences, thundering strips, and strengthened barriers. The Terwilliger Boulevard Exchange was rebuilt in 1992 to accommodate the flow of traffic.
According to the The Oregonian , in the late 1980s a plan was made by an ODOT engineer who proposed a soft curve near Terwilliger Boulevard and Brier Place. However, the plan would disrupt the city parks and houses that exist in the neighborhood, making it unfeasible politically.
Mid-1990s
In November 1995, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), Oregon State Police (OSP), ODOT, and local neighborhood associations launched a "multiprong plan" to improve safety on the Terwilliger curve. Among the initiatives: lowering the speed limit from 55 to 50 mph (90 to 80 km/h), posting "better-illuminated signs" reminds drivers of hazards, increased traffic law enforcement, and approval of $ 31,000 (including private , state and federal funds) to manufacture six parking pads to increase police presence. In addition, OSP announced "plans to put aircraft in the air twice a month to monitor traffic".
In the next two months, more than 1,100 tickets were distributed to motorists, mostly for speeding. Seven months later, after distributing more than 3,000 tickets, the Portland police reported an 80% reduction in the accident rate.
According to ODOT, traffic accidents are cut in half during the first year of the program; only 15 calls to 9-1-1 about accidents on the Terwilliger curve were made in November 1996, compared to 48 in November 1995. The following year, Portland police reported an overall increase in traffic quotations largely due to photo radar on the Terwilliger curve, issued more than 5,400 citations from November 1995 to October 1996. However, when police reduced their patrols, the accident report rose once again.
2000s to this day
Starting in 2004, a $ 23 million safety improvement project has begun, installing a "yellow warning light blinking at the northern end of the indentation", repaving the road, adding "reflective road striping" and a ninth concrete renovation for the PPD car squad. to park and "direct their radar guns". PPD Officer Tom Larson, dubbed "Terwilliger Tom" for his patrol in the area, has described it as a situation without a solution: "No matter how hard you upset, there will always be fools coming and messing it up."
In 2005, state officials said there were "no plans for extensive work" on the road in the next 20 years, noting that only two deaths occurred in the area in the previous 18 years.
See also
- Oregon Portal
- U.S. Road Portal.
- List the streets in Portland, Oregon
References
External links
- I-5 di Terwilliger ODOT Traffic Cam
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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