BOLLINGER COUNTY SHERIFF DECRIES HAZARDOUS ROADS

MARBLE HILL -- Law enforcement officials in Marble Hill hope a bill endorsed by the Senate last week will have an impact on the condition of state highways in Bollinger County.

The bill calls for Missouri to receive an increase in federal highway aid of $754 million over the next five years, bringing the yearly share of state highway money from $275 million to about $429 million.

Bollinger County Sheriff Dan Mesey said the sheriff's department is asking legislators that some of that money be allocated for repair of state highways in Bollinger County deemed hazardous by the department.

"I know that roads in Bollinger County are not as highly traveled as roads in Cape or St. Louis counties," Mesey said. "But fewer cars on the road can lead to higher speeds and a false sense of security."

A number of recent accidents in the county has prompted him to write letters to lawmakers, he said.

On Sunday, three Marble Hill residents were injured, one seriously, the result of a one-car accident on Highway 34 a mile west of Marble Hill.

Last week, a 25-year-old Glen Allen woman was killed along Highway 34 when the driver of the truck she was riding in lost control of the vehicle, causing it to run off the road.

And earlier this month, three people were injured in two separate accidents along Highway 34.

In all of the accidents, police said the drivers lost control and ran off the road.

Mesey said state roads in Bollinger County, especially Highway 34, contain dangerous, sharp curves that are often accompanied by steep dropoffs on the shoulder.

He said that although alcohol and other factors can contribute to accidents, drivers in Bollinger County are "risking their lives every day" on hazardous roads.

Many of the curves are not banked with proper inclines that help keep drivers on the road, Mesey said. And many lack guard rails, he said.

Mesey, whose home is along Highway 34, said he sees some accidents first-hand. On one Saturday early this year, he said, three separate accidents occurred in front of his home, which is situated on a curve.

He calls these hazardous highways "death traps" and said federal money is vital in making them less dangerous.

He said hazardous conditions also exist along Highway 51 in the county.

The Missouri Highway Patrol reported that in 1990, 96 accidents occurred in the county, two which caused fatalities and 56 which caused injuries.

From January to May of this year, 28 accidents have produced 11 injuries, the patrol said.

Mesey said that after he read about the highway bill he felt an obligation to push for money to be spent to fix roads in his county.

"These are friends of mine whose children are being killed and injured," the sheriff said.

Many of the roads in Bollinger County originated as dirt and then gravel roads, Mesey said. When concrete roads were built, they followed the same routes as the original roadways.

As a result, roads that were safe for "horses and buggies" are no longer safe for cars and trucks, which travel much faster, he said.

Mesey said many of the roads need to be rebanked and guard rails need to be added. In other cases, he said, the sharp curves need to be widened.