Lee County approves combined safety package for Burnt Store Road, including paved shoulders and passing lanes
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Summary
After reviewing crash data and options, the Lee County Board authorized a combined interim treatment — rumble striping, passing lanes and 4‑ft paved shoulders — for the two‑lane Burnt Store Road corridor, directing DOT to proceed to design and bid.
Lee County commissioners voted Jan. 20 to move forward with a multi‑element interim safety package on the two‑lane segment of Burnt Store Road, approving a plan that combines rumble striping, passing lanes and 4‑foot paved shoulders.
Rob Price of the county’s Department of Transportation presented four options that ranged from lower‑cost rumble striping to a combined treatment that includes paved shoulders and passing lanes. Price said his team recommended rumble striping as the highest short‑term benefit for cost, citing industry studies, but commissioners ultimately approved the broader Option 4. “Based on our review of the crash data, staff recommends moving forward with installing rumble stripes on the edge lines and the center line, to reduce lane‑departure vehicles, until the 4‑lane improvement can be completed,” Price said. He added that rumble striping studies show substantial crash reductions for relatively modest investment.
Why it matters: Commissioners said the corridor — which currently carries higher speeds and has limited recovery area — needs margin for error and better passing opportunities to reduce hazardous passing maneuvers. Supporters argued paved shoulders also create safe places for enforcement and for emergency vehicle stops.
Cost and timeline: Price said rumble striping is the fastest measure to implement and would require bidding; it offers a high benefit‑to‑cost ratio (staff cited studies suggesting a 43% reduction in crashes). Options that require pavement widening and shoulders will take longer to construct, likely a year or more for full build out; staff expects to proceed to bid for the chosen work and to bring construction awards back to the board as necessary.
The vote: Commissioners approved Option 4 (combined measures) with no recorded objection and directed DOT to sequence implementation so that short‑term measures are not wasted when longer‑term construction occurs.
Next steps: DOT will advertise bid packages where applicable, proceed with rumble striping where it will not be reworked immediately by subsequent widening, and return to the board with award recommendations for larger construction contracts.
Provenance: topic introduced SEG 2890; decision recorded SEG 3118–SEG 3201.
