
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 10, 1991                   TAG: 9104100542
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-5   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: EMPORIA                                LENGTH: Short

`SUICIDE STRIP' IS NO MORE ON U.S. 58

The "Suicide Strip" sign that warned U.S. 58 motorists of dangerous conditions on the road between Emporia and Courtland has been removed with the dedication of a new four-lane highway.

"In the 21-year period from 1970 through 1990, there were 1,334 accidents on this stretch of highway - an average rate that is just over five accidents each month," state Transportation Commissioner Ray D. Pethtel said Tuesday at the dedication ceremony. "In that same period, 107 people lost their lives, or a death every 2 1/2 months."

The final leg of the $42.9 million, 22-mile project opened last month, although portions of the new road were in use last year.

The sign showed a skull in the middle of a two-lane road and the words, "Caution, Approaching Suicide Strip. It's a Two-Lane Killer!"

In the early 1980s, local residents began pressuring the state to give top priority to plans to widen U.S. 58. The residents organized a "58 Can't Wait" committee and succeeded in getting the project put ahead of others in former Gov. Gerald Baliles' 1986 transportation initiative.

by CNB