Rumble Strips on Route 7 Should Increase Safety

Rumble strips have been added to sections of Route 7 in Bennington County, including a stretch in Pownal where two fatal accidents occurred last winter, as part of a statewide effort to increase safety along the Route 7 corridor.

The Berkshire Eagle reports the federally funded project of the Vermont Agency of Transportation began about a month ago.

All rumble strip installations as part of the project have been completed in Bennington County,

Centerline rumble strips have been linked to a 44-percent reduction in head-on and fatal injury crashes on two-lane roads,

Robert Dross, a 21-year-old Pownal firefighter, was killed in a two-car crash Feb. 1.

A Shaftsbury firefighter, Shelby Coon, of Bennington, was killed in a one-car crash March 4.

In March, the Pownal Select Board voted to ask state transportation officials to study a stretch of Route 7 for potential safety upgrades, after the two fatal crashes.