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The state Department of Transportation completed the work as part of a pilot project to install the centerline rumble strips, said Frey (R-Ridgefield).
The center line rumble strips were installed on Friday, April 25. The cost of doing the work on the nearly 4 miles of road from the intersection of Routes 7 and 35 to the entrance of I-84 was approximately $16,000.
Centerline rumble strips are parallel grooves cut into a road’s pavement in the center line that divides opposite-direction travel lanes. The DOT describes the strips as “a low-cost safety measure designed to reduce head-on and side swipe opposite direction crashes.”
Studies have shown that centerline rumble strips reduce crossover collisions by about 50 percent.
“The rumble strip creates vibration and noise, so it reaches drivers through two senses – hearing and feel,” said DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick.
Frey, who was also instrumental in Route 7’s widening in both 2005 and 2009 at a cost of $66 million, contacted local officials and asked them to contact the DOT and lend their support to including Route 7 on the list of roads included in the pilot project.
Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, Ridgefield Police Chief John Roche, and Ridgefield Police Commission Chairman Thomas Reynolds acting as the Town’s Traffic Authority all sent letters of support for Route 7’s inclusion to DOT’s engineers.
Frey’s persistence paid off when DOT officials agreed to include Route 7 on their list of roads included in the pilot project, completing the work little more than a week after Frey first discussed the issue with the state engineers.
“While eliminating distracted and drowsy driving is still the key to preventing accidents, this improvement should go a long way toward reducing the number of incidents on Route 7,” Frey added.
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