Slow down showdown on Joliet Rd.

Montana Department of Transportation engineers do not recommend reducing the speed limit for the first four miles of Highway 421, Joliet Road, from its intersection with Highway 78.
MDT conducted a speed study of a longer 8.8-mile section following a request by the Stillwater County Commissioners that the speed limit be reduced from 60 mph to 50 for the first four miles of Joliet Road, as far as Upper Flat Road.
The 8.8-mile section of rural highway, which has an annual average daily volume of 790 vehicles, saw 26 single-vehicle crashes in a three-year period ending Dec. 31, 2014. Seven of the 26 crashes involved animals.
Most of the accidents counted in the study occurred on bare dry roadway and fell into two crash clusters. Five crashes involved northbound vehicles failing to negotiate a curve at the 3.6 to 3.8 mile stretch.
Seven crashes involved northbound vehicles that either rolled over or hit fixed objects at the 5.7 to 5.8 mile stretch.
Both crash clusters were identified by MDT in 2015 for safety improvements, including sign upgrades, reflectors and rumble strips. In the recent speed study, MDT found within the 4-mile section a missing 50 mph sign and a 55 mph sign that should read 40 mph. These signs are orange “recommended” speed signs, not regulatory speed limit signs.
MDT district engineer Stan Jonutis told the county commissioners at their Oct. 20 meeting that they can accept or reject the speed recommendation as a whole, but if they want it modified, they must approve the recommendation and then lobby the Montana Transportation Commission.
Jonutis said MDT crews had already addressed some of the sign issues, and money was available for the rest of the work.
The commissioners unanimously approved MDT’s recommendation with the intent of seeking a modification. Commissioner Gerald Dell noted that 790 vehicle-trips on average per day was “a lot of traffic.”