Steps to create a safer U.S. 550

Studying a problem is essential for making improvements, but only if examination of what’s wrong leads to action. Too often, pages of studies grow dusty (or in today’s digital age, linger on the internet, unread) before the problem being examined is addressed.

Take the condition of U.S. 550, a highway known for its deadly collisions and high fatality rate. As The New Mexican’s Thom Cole has reported, the state Department of Transportation studied the dangerous conditions of the road back in 2013. Solutions proposed then included installing concrete or cable barriers in the middle of the road. That way, cars or trucks wouldn’t easily cross into oncoming traffic and cause fatal wrecks.

Other improvements would include better marking of median lines, lighting some intersections and installing signs to alert motorists of their speed, bad weather and other changes to the road or conditions.

In other words, the state understands that the road continues to present safety problems. Commissioning a study proves that. What’s more, the study points to solutions. Yet, in the four years since the study was completed, it’s not clear which, if any, suggestions have been adopted for the highway, a road known as a “killing zone.”

The department declined a written request to provide specifics. (The study was obtained by The New Mexican through a request under the State Inspection of Public Records Act.)

Transportation Secretary Tom Church, reacting to newspaper reports, has asked department engineers for ways to increase safety on U.S. 550. With a report already paid for and completed, the task is simple — what is more difficult is actually implementing the recommendations. The study was carried out because of a Senate memorial from 2012. Then-Sen. Lynda Lovejoy, a Democrat from Crownpoint, believed there were too many crashes on the road. The memorial said then — and it’s still true — that “increased safety measures need to be taken to prevent further head-on collisions and to help ensure the safety of all drivers.”

The study, by engineering and consulting firm CH2M, cited excessive speed, bad weather and time of day as other factors that contributed to crashes on U.S. 550. Barriers in the median are one solution — and cables are less expensive than concrete — but that’s not all the study pointed to as ways to make the road less dangerous. Better tracking of weather conditions is one solution, and that includes getting crews out to sand the roads and alerting drivers to problems early. More information — about the weather, speed limits and changes in road grade — is key.

Road markings can be improved, crash clusters can have lights installed and police can patrol more frequently to help enforce speed limits.

There is no one-size-fits-all fix to make U.S. 550 less deadly — but several changes and improvements have been identified. Some are not very expensive, such as installing signs. Rather than more study, now is the time for action. Otherwise, the state is just spinning its wheels.