Second Route 3 safety meeting set for tonight

Residents who live near an area of Route 3 that’s been the site of several recent fatal accidents plan to gather again tonight to hear an update on efforts to improve safety on the busy highway.

At a meeting late last month, about 30 people met with Virginia Department of Transportation officials, legislators and county and state law enforcement to discuss the problem. But the officials acknowledged that resolving the area’s traffic safety issues probably won’t come quick or cheap and no specific timetable for improvement has been announced.
The group will meet at Stevensburg Baptist Church on York Road at 7 p.m.

Since 2007, three accidents have claimed six lives on the stretch of Route 3 east of Culpeper near Clay Hill Road.

The most recent wreck occurred on March 22. Four young people, aged 19 to 21, died when their sedan was struck head-on by an SUV.

Police say the SUV’s driver, Eugene T. Green of Culpeper, was driving in the wrong lane. Green and a passenger in the sedan, 27-year-old Howard J. Steiniger, survived the crash. Authorities initially said that alcohol was involved, but no further details have been released.

Virginia State Police spokesman Sgt. Les Tyler said the investigation into the crash is ongoing. It is not known if or when charges may be filed.

Tyler and VDOT spokesman Lou Hatter also said it’s not clear if last month’s accident was one of the worst-ever vehicle-related fatal crashes in the county. Both said that information wasn’t readily available Wednesday afternoon.

At the March meeting, State Police Sgt. Grover Dean, a trooper for nearly 40 years, told residents that nearly all of the accidents that occurred in the area of concern on Route 3 are attributable to human error.

“A lot of it is people in a hurry,” Dean said.

According to information provided by Dean in March, 37 crashes were reported in the area in 2006, 30 in 2007 and 25 in 2008. Overall, crashes in that area accounted for less than 10 percent of the county’s total accidents each year.

Officials say expanding the highway to four lanes is the best solution, but a lack of funding is slowing the process. In the meantime, VDOT is conducting a study to determine which short-term safety enhancements — like additional signs, flashing lights, a lower speed limit or rumble strips — would be most effective.

Want to go?

Route 3 safety meeting,
7 p.m. at Stevensburg Baptist Church, 19293
York Road, Stevensburg.

Other hot spots around Culpeper County
Route 3 is the main road linking Culpeper and Fredericksburg. Eastbound from Culpeper, the four-lane highway becomes two lanes near Stevensburg for several miles before widening to four lanes again near Richardsville.

Other areas in the county are also crash hot spots. From January 2005 through December 2007 — the latest data available — six intersections in Culpeper had at least 14 reported crashes.

VDOT spokesman Lou Hatter noted that some of the intersections have since been improved or redesigned and the data does not include accidents that didn’t occur in or near intersections.

The locations are:
1. U.S. 29 at Brandy Station — 24 crashes
2. U.S. 29 at Route 666 — 18 crashes
3. U.S. 29 at Mountain Run Lake Road — 17 crashes
4. Route 229 at U.S. 211 — 17 crashes
5. Route 229 at Jeffersonton Road — 14 crashes
6. Bus. 29 at Montanus Drive — 14 crashes.