Rogers company will put in rumble strips on Hwy. 12 at no cost to MnDOT

A company out of Rogers has stepped up to put in rumble strips on a six-mile segment of Hwy. 12 where two fatal crashes have occurred in the past week.

Diamond Surface Inc. said it will donate the time and materials totaling $15,000 to put the strips down the center of the two-lane highway between County Road 6 and the Maple Plain border. The company also will put them down from the railroad bridge on the west end of Maple Plain to County Line Road, which serves as the border between Delano and Independence.

The work, weather permitting, is set to happen Saturday from 7 a.m. until late afternoon.

"It's very exciting that people are stepping up," said Chief Gary Kroells of the West Hennepin Public Safety, which serves the communities of Maple Plain and Independence. "Our citizens will be happy. It's something we have to try."

The company's donation comes a day after the newly formed Highway 12 Safety Coalition met in Delano to talk about ways to make the highway safer. The coalition composed of representatives from Orono, Delano, Maple Plain, Independence, Howard Lake and other communities along Hwy. 12 had proposed rumble strips as a remedy.

"We are local and we have families in the area," said spokesman Andy McDeid in explaining why Diamond Surface is doing the work for free. "We are not busy at this time of the year and we have the equipment and the people."

Diamond Surface, Inc. is the only rumble strip company in Minnesota and has worked with MnDOT on past projects. It also works on road project across the country.

Rumble strips are an inexpensive way to make a road safer, McDeid said. They are an effective countermeasure to prevent head-on collisions and opposite-direction sideswipes, often referred to as cross-over or cross-centerline crashes, the Federal Highway Administration said.

The noise and vibration produced by grooves cut into the road surface alert drivers whose vehicles are crossing centerlines of two-lane, two-way roadways.

"Providing a safe and reliable transportation system is our top priority, and we're working diligently with our partners to help improve safety on Highway 12," said Scott McBride, MnDOT Metro District engineer. "Adding rumble stripes won't eliminate the possibility of head-on crashes all together, but it will go a long way toward reducing these often tragic incidents by alerting motorists who cross the centerline."

Four people have died in three crashes on Hwy. 12 in the area of Maple Plain/County Road 6 since April, said Jennifer Johnson, of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.

On Tuesday a 55-year-old Richfield man was killed just east of County Road 83. On Dec. 2, a 24-year-old Plymouth woman died in a crash involving a UPS truck just east of Maple Plain. In both cases, a vehicle crossed the centerline.

But traffic volume has increased as population in cities such as Delano, Howard Lake, Waverly, Maple Plain and points west has risen. Traffic on Hwy. 12 in western Hennepin County has swelled to 15,000 vehicles a day, by MnDOT counts.

On Saturday, crews will work from east to west, starting near Orono and finishing in Delano. The highway will be controlled by flaggers. Motorists should expect delays and drive with caution, MnDOT spokesman Nick Carpenter said.

Others still have concerns on portions of Hwy. 12 further west, including in Montrose where motorcyclist Robert Brau, 21 of Willmar was killed in August.