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Infrastructure Improvements
Crashes, and ultimately the severity of a crash, are a result of contributing factors related to the driver, vehicle type and size, and roadway. Roadway safety infrastructure improvements can impact driver behavior and the effects of a vehicle operating on the roadway to affect the overall frequency and severity of a crash. Engineering safety analysis determines those roadways with a higher potential for safety improvement, roadway features that pose a higher risk for severe crashes, and potential safety countermeasures that can be implemented. IDOT continually evaluates safety performance of a roadway and can implement roadway safety infrastructure improvements at any point in the transportation management process.
Implementation is achieved through several avenues including in-house forces for simple improvements, broader construction projects addressing other roadway needs such as pavement surface improvement, and specific highway safety improvement projects. This allows IDOT to maximize its safety efforts across the entire public roadway system. Stand-alone infrastructure safety improvements are funded through the core federal program, the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), which is specifically focused on reducing fatality and serious injuries on all public roads. To learn more, please navigate to the Highway Safety Improvement Program webpage.
The department conducts Roadway Safety Assessments (RSA), a formal safety performance review by a multi-discipline independent team. This occurs periodically on both state and local roadways to evaluate the safety performance of a roadway and identify low cost, easily implemented safety strategies ranging from infrastructure improvements to targeted enforcement efforts. More often, a less formal roadway safety review (RSR) is appropriate and can include the roadway owner on the review team. To learn more, please navigate to the Roadway Safety Assessment webpage.
