A series of fatal accidents in 2009 on rural two-lane state highways in St. Charles County prompted a group of residents to form Shoulders fOr Safety (SOS).
The group's members, some of whom lost children in accidents on those roads, asked county and state officials to make the roads safer. They asked Fred Weber Inc. to donate materials. They asked the Missouri Department of Transportation for funding and a plan.
Eventually, the group got most everything it asked for.
On Friday, MoDOT hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area to dedicate $5.5 million worth of safety improvements to four roads: Highway 94 west of Highway D to Defiance, Highway D from 94 to west of Huffmeier Road, and Highway DD from Sommers Road to Highway D, all in southwestern St. Charles County; and Highway P from Highway 61 to Hoff Road north of Interstate 70.
"This is incredible. Two years ago I had no idea that we would be cutting this ribbon today," said Defiance resident Shannon Follwell, who was among the SOS members who helped cut the ribbon.
Follwell's daughter, Brianna Carron, was 16 when she died in an accident March 1, 2009, on Highway D west of Old Highway D near Cappeln. Carron went off the road, over-corrected, crossed the center line and collided head-on with a pickup truck carrying the driver and two boys, ages 10 and 12. Carron died at the scene. The three people in the pickup survived.
"I had to lose my daughter to create this, but I'm sure she is very proud of us today," Follwell said. "I smile every time I drive down DD now. It's just amazing."
Design work for the projects was done in 2010, and all four projects were constructed this year. The county approved $400,000 in funding for three of the projects. MoDOT spent $1.6 million from its high-risk rural road funds and $2.8 million in federal funds. The only project the county didn't kick money into was the work on Highway P. MoDOT paid for that project was paid with $762,000 in high-risk rural road funds and $560,000 in federal funds.
"It took a real partnership to get this done," said MoDOT District Engineer Ed Hassinger. "We might have been able to spend the money we had, but it wouldn't as gone as far. We were able to go more miles."
What drivers needed on those roads was more room for error. Previously, even the slightest correction could have resulted in a serious accident because of the steep slopes and lack of guardrails along the roads. Guardrails were added to portions of highways D, DD and P.
All four of the projects included an additional 3 feet of shoulder room on both sides of the pavement to give drivers more time to react to over-correcting. Rumple stripes, added to the center lines and sides of the roads, give drivers an audible warning they are leaving the road. Rumple stripes are deep grooves cut into the asphalt. When a vehicle's tires roll over them they make a loud, distinct sound.
"These roads carry thousands of cars every day and there was not margin for error," said Jim Gremaud, MoDOT project director. "What we've done is give the folks a little more room for error. We stretched our resources and got a lot of bang for the buck."
Randy Frump's son, Bryan Frump, was killed in a one-car accident Jan. 1, 2009, at Highway D three miles west of Highway 94 when his pickup left the road on a curve and overturned several times. Bryan Frump was pronounced dead a short time later.
Friday's ceremony took place about a mile from Bryan Frump's accident site. Randy Frump said he was proud of the hard work and professionalism shown by SOS the last two years.
"The roads are safer," Frump said. "Obviously in an ideal world where money isn't a problem we'd like to have full shoulders where you can pull over if needed. As narrow and windy as these roads were, these roads are much safer than they were and there's no doubt they will save lives."
Follwell said there is more work to do. Improvements weren't made to the section of road where her daughter was killed.
"We've got a few more miles to go and we're not going to give up until it's done," Follwell said.
