NDOT and regional partners told the Carroll County Administrative and Technical Transportation Committee on Nov. 20 that a rapid road safety audit of State Route 25, just east of Delphi, identified systemic crash and safety issues and proposed site-specific countermeasures to pursue funding.

The audit, conducted as part of a broader Safe Streets for All action-plan process, involved staff review of crash records, on-site inspection and stakeholder meetings. Aria Seiger, an area planning commissioner, summarized the purpose: "We do them every 3 years in the same locations," she said, explaining the program’s routine data collection and targeted corridor reviews. NDOT staff added the audit’s purpose is not punitive but to "find what's causing the problems as well as kind of proposing some solutions," and that the resulting document will be used to apply for implementation funding.

Why it matters: the audit creates a documented, third-party set of findings that local governments can use to seek grant funding for physical improvements, from striping and signage to larger engineering changes. Committee members were told the corridor review is one of several being evaluated through the regional Safe Streets for All effort, which focuses on higher-crash corridors to pursue implementation grants.

Committee discussion focused on coordination and next steps: NDOT staff said the audit had a short turnaround and that their office attended stakeholder meetings to provide crash data and local context. Staff recommended that the committee and local stakeholders review the draft recommendations and identify locations where they want follow-up work or additional traffic counts.

What comes next: staff said the audit document would support later implementation-phase grant applications. Committee members were invited to submit specific questions or locations for more detailed study so any recommended projects could be prioritized in future funding cycles.