The Michigan Department of Transportation, state police, and other transportation agencies have released a report outlining ways I-94 from the Michigan-Indiana border to Jackson could be made safer. The report was commissioned following last winter’s 193 vehicle pileup on the highway in Kalamazoo County. MDOT’s Nick Schirripa says it suggests the cable guard rails be relocated in certain areas so there’s more room for drivers to pull over. It also recommends some new signs.
“Things such as variable speed limit signs,” Schirripa told WSJM. “So, instead of a static, black and white speed limit sign, it actually has a digital display for the speed limit, and that can be changed when the weather conditions change.”
Schirripa says the state legislature would have to approve the use of those signs. He also says MDOT is already implementing many of the road design recommendations made in the report, like adding new lanes in certain areas, and keeping drivers up to date on traffic conditions. He notes drivers around southwest Michigan this winter can check on where MDOT plows are, and see real time pictures from the road by going to Michigan.gov/Drive.
