U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
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Date: April 17, 2007
Presentation of Preliminary findings to Tribal Council on April 19, 2007
RSA Team and Participants:
Dennis Trusty, PE, Director - Northern Plains Tribal Technical Assistance Program
Dave Johnson, Highway Engineer - Rocky Mountain Region of Bureau of Indian Affairs
Jim Combs, Traffic Engineer - Montana Department of Transportation
Wes Cochran, Transportation Planner - Fort Belknap Transportation Department
Stan Zander Jr., Technician - Fort Belknap Tribal Sanitation / Environmental Health
Alan Main, Patrol Officer - Fort Belknap Law Enforcement
Background:
The RSA was conducted on Montana Highway 2, which is located in the Fort Belknap Indian Community. This section of Highway 2 is 23 miles in length with an Average Daily Traffic (ADT) of 5130 with a mix of traffic, including commercial vehicles. Highway 2 was reviewed from the reservation boundary in the west to the reservation boundary in the east. Montana Highway 2 was selected as an RSA site in a proactive approach to identify road safety issues that may lead to vehicular and pedestrian crashes. This RSA was conducted on April 17th with a team that was comprised of law enforcement, transportation, and other local officials.
RSA Process:
The RSA was performed by conducting field studies using accepted RSA practices of driving the reviewed road in both directions in the daytime and again at night along portions of Montana Highway 2 described above. In addition, the RSA team also examined crash history reports and statistics indicating number of crashes, type of crashes and when the crashes occurred. This data was reviewed and synthesized to help identify safety issues that exist along the corridor.
RSA Stage: Existing Road
Issue: Intersection Crashes
Location: Intersection of Montana Highway 2 and Route 9
Description of Safety Issue:
There are an insufficient number of signs that tell drivers that an intersection is approaching.
Suggestion:
The RSA Team recommends that the intersection of Montana Highway 2 and Route 9 incorporate more signage that includes Intersection Ahead and a Double Arrow sign at the intersection approaches.
The RSA Team documented that some of the bridge and guard rail end treatments have rounded ends and others have square ends. As a result, the variations in bridge and guard rail end treatments may need to be studied further to see if it poses a safety concern.
The RSA Team noted that there might be confusion by motorists as to which Intersection they wish to use in order to enter the Fort Belknap Agency. Note: Fort Belknap Agency is the headquarters Community (town/village) for the Fort Belknap Reservation. Fort Belknap Agency is the location for the Indian Health Center as well as many other Tribal offices. Fort Belknap Agency also includes Tribal family homes. The speed limit on Montana Highway 2 makes it difficult to read the current signs, which thus prevents motorists from making accurate decisions.
