ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 19, 1997 TAG: 9702190098
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
The 70-car pileup that shut down Interstate 77 on a foggy mountain near Fancy Gap last Friday may motivate the Virginia Department of Transportation to take a hard look at what it can do to make that stretch of mountaintop highway safer.
Bob Beasley, assistant resident engineer with VDOT's residency office in Hillsville, said the department has investigated the fog issue off and on for a number of years. But the department has yet to determine what kind of system can best help drivers see the highway when heavy fog rolls in.
The portion of I-77 where last week's pileup occurred opened in 1976 and is outfitted with pavement markings and extra-wide reflective stripping that contains glass beads, Beasley said.
Vehicle headlights reflect off the glass beads in the stripping. But if there is fog between the stripping and headlights, the stripping's effectiveness is reduced, Beasley said.
"In darkness or light fog, [the highway] is very well marked," he said. "But we've had fog where visibility is almost nil. In that situation, when you have limited visibility, what we can do is somewhat limited as well."
VDOT has been looking at ways to make hazardous-weather driving as safe as possible on the seven miles of I-77 that cross the mountainous terrain at Fancy Gap, Beasley said. But measures recently have focused more on high winds than fog. VDOT, in fact, had intended to install variable warning signs this spring or summer to inform drivers of high winds, he said.
"But the fog situation has not been looked at as closely," Beasley said. "Now I think we have to look at it."
Beasley was uncertain exactly what safety measures could be used. Electrical fog-light systems have been used on some mountaintop highways in Virginia, he said. But he wasn't sure how effective those systems have been in improving visibility in heavy fog.
In 1992, poor visibility on a fog-shrouded Afton Mountain outside Waynesboro caused chain-reaction collisions in which two people died and dozens were injured. The portion of Interstate 64 that crosses the mountain had been equipped with electric fog lights since 1976.
In September, the Commonwealth Transportation Board approved spending $5.3 million on a new fog-light system for Afton Mountain. It will be the first major lighting upgrade on the mountain since the 1992 incident, said Leon Sheets, transportation engineer at VDOT's traffic engineering office in Staunton.
The lights will be brighter than those that now line the pavement. The new system also will include a computer to adjust the brightness of the lights according to the level of motorist visibility.
The lights, controlled by five visibility sensors, will be embedded in the road as they are in the current system. Ten electronic message signs will be installed to give motorists information on traffic accidents, road construction and weather.
The $5.3 million also includes money for pavement repair.
A TALE OF TWO MOUNTAINS
Virginia is home to two notorious fog-bound mountains - Interstate 64 over Afton Mountain and Interstate 77 over Fancy Gap.
What's been your experience driving over either of these mountains in bad weather? Do you have any horror stories to share? Any suggestions on how to improve the situation?
WRITE: Foggy Mountains, c/o The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010.
CALL: In Roanoke, 981-0100. In New River, 382-0200. Press category 7821.
FAX: 981-3346.
E-MAIL: roatimes@2infi.net
Please include your name, address and both a day and evening telephone number.
LENGTH: Medium: 74 linesby CNB