In the last 10 years U.S. Highway 50 has undergone several improvements to increase the safety in certain areas. However, even after repairs, 50 is still considered one of the more dangerous two lane highways.
When talking about 50, Senator Les Donovan described driving on it as; nerve racking, high speeds, cross winds, and little room for error. In fact, the last 5 years have shown that 50 has the largest amount of head on collisions of all two lane highways in Kansas. Coincidentally, it also has the largest amount of big trucks.
A transportation plan designed 10 years ago is responsible for the improvements that have recently been made. Unfortunately there seems to be no more plans for improvement, mostly because of lack of funding. In fact, the safest plan for U.S. 50 is to turn it into a 4 lane highway, which carries an estimated bill of $1.2 billion.
However, it seems something must be done, regardless of price. According to records there were 17 fatalities on 50 just within the last year.
Assistant secretary of the Kansas Department of Transportation, Jerry Younger, says that unfortunately it's unlikely that a plan to increase U.S. 50 to four lanes will go through. With the price of building materials so high, the price for road construction has skyrocketed.
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