Tuesday, August 17, 1999
Construction area watched
Police aim to head off more crashes
BY WALT SCHAEFER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Blue Ash Sgt. Paul Hartinger measures speeds along I-71 near the Pfeiffer Road exit on Monday with a laser device.
(Michael Snyder photos)
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BLUE ASH — There is only about one mile of interstate highway here. About half of it is part of Interstate 275, and the other half is part of Interstate 71.
But motorists best be wary when zipping through.
Construction on I-71 has prompted police to beef up enforcement on both interstate stretches, particularly because they are on the threshold of the construction area, said Bruce Henry, assistant city manager and safety director.
The I-71 stretch lies between Pfeiffer Road and I-275. The I-275 leg is between I-71 and the Kemper Road overpass.
“We want to reduce speeding and improper lane changes in these areas because of the I-71 construction project and the large number of accidents we have experienced,” Mr. Henry said.
Motorists gassing up at stations approaching the I-71 construction project Monday morning agreed that increased police presence in the area would have a positive effect.
“I don't know about speeding,” said John Simpson, 44, of Fairfield, who delivers materials for Zeiser Construction. “I drive eight hours a day and come through this area a lot, and it's hard to speed. Traffic's slowed down or backed up. But I do think (police) can have an effect on people changing lanes. That's the biggest problem.”
As of 4 p.m. Monday — the first day of the increased enforcement — Blue Ash officers had issued 21 highway speeding citations, 17 on I-71 and four on I-275.
The stepped-up enforce ment will continue through 1999. The speed limit has been reduced to 55 mph through the construction zone, Mr. Henry said.
There were 23 accidents in 1998 on the city's I-275 stretch and 12 so far this year, including an Aug. 6 crash involving charter buses from an Indianapolis high school that resulted in minor injuries to 34 school band members.
There were 49 accidents on I-71 here in 1998 and 22 as of July 1 of this year.
The construction project is widening I-71 from just north of the Pfeiffer Road interchange in Montgomery, north past the I-275 and Fields Ertel Road interchanges, to the Western Row Road interchange just before Paramount's Kings Island in Warren County, said Kim Patton of the Ohio Department of Transportation.
There will be three through lanes the entire stretch plus a fourth lane in some areas to improve access to the highway, Mrs. Patton said. Completion of the $32.4 million project is expected in July 2001.
While Blue Ash police cruisers, with officers pointing speed guns, will be prevalent on I-275, the Ohio State Highway Patrol will be increasing vigilance on I-275 from the Clermont County line west to I-71, said Lt. Paul Hermes, commander of the patrol' Batavia post.
That stretch includes the Montgomery Road overpass where four people were killed and 11 others injured — all from a Knoxville, Tenn. church group — in another Aug. 6 crash. It occurred seven hours later and about 11/2 miles from the bus accident.
Statistics from the Hamilton County sheriff show there were 98 accidents in the Sycamore Township stretch of I-275 in 1998 and 67 as of Aug. 6 this year.
Clayton Kuehn, the driver of a tractor-trailer rig that slammed into the rear of a 15-passenger van carrying the church group, has been indicted by a Hamilton County grand jury on four counts of involuntary manslaughter. A conviction could put him in prison for 20 years.
Although Blue Ash and the state patrol are increasing presence on the interstates, there is no concerted areawide crackdown. Other area police jurisdictions have no plans to increase interstate patrols beyond present levels.
Those include:
• Montgomery, where the I-71 and I-275 interchange is located and where interstate patrols have been bumped up since a year ago.
• Hamilton County sheriff's patrol, which patrols Sycamore Township.
“We increased our patrols over a year ago in preparation for construction (and) ... the increased traffic and will continue (at that higher) ... level,” said Montgomery Police Chief Don McGlothlin.
“To be honest with you, until those (Aug. 6) accidents, we were hearing comments about us being out there too much, like, "Don't you have anything better to do?'” the chief said.
Motorist Ann Perlich of Madeira said she has advised friends to avoid the area around I-71 and I-275 because of increased traffic.
“It's good (to have more police) and, in an ideal world, more police would work,” she said. “But, I say, you have to hit (violators) very, very hard. If they speed, put them in jail; (or) take away their licenses the first time around and clamp some $1,000 fines on them.”
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