Independence Township Fire Chief Steve Ronk is tired of the carnage.
The April 30 multiple-vehicle crash on I-75 south of Sashabaw Road is one more piece of evidence that the expressway needs more safety engineering, and Ronk wants other public safety and township officials to join with him to demand it from the Michigan Department of Transportation.
‘We are going to push hard for guard rails,? Ronk said on Monday. ‘This crossover thing has got to stop.?
The weekend crash, which involved five burning vehicles, three deaths and one critical injury, was caused by a southbound vehicle crossing the median into the northbound lanes.
Ronk hopes to recruit Lt. Dale LaBair, commander of the Independence Township substation of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, and Supervisor Dave Wagner to join in a letter to MDOT.
LaBair said he needs no convincing.
‘I thought there was something already on their wish list,? LaBair said. ‘Maybe we can accelerate it some.?
LaBair, who was among sheriff units assisting with the emergency, said the crash site has a narrow median with virtually nothing to deter a crossover.
‘This thing had all the bad makings to begin with,? he said. ‘It’s a narrower spot of median, it’s flat, it was dry. There was nothing to absorb energy.
‘That is a bad stretch of road,? the lieutenant said. ‘We get clipped there on a regular basis.?
As part of ongoing repairs to I-75, MDOT has installed guard rails north of the M-15 intersection. Ronk said that prevented a major tragedy when a southbound semi-truck overturned in January.
‘They need to continue it at least through our township,? Ronk said. ‘I don’t know why it hasn’t been addressed.?
MDOT spokesman Rob Morosi was unable to immediately report whether additional guardrails are planned for the area.
Morosi noted the narrowness of the median in that area as a possible construction concern, but LaBair said Michigan lacks the landscaping options used by other states to help slow vehicles which may enter the median.
‘I’m one of the guys who cheer when there’s mud in the median,’LaBair said. ‘The guard rail’s about the only option.?
Part of the problem with the engineering of the freeway dates back to the 1960s when the freeway was built. Politics and right-of-way issues were such that I-75 in southeast Michigan has the most curves and turns than any expressway in the nation, LaBair said.