Write Up:

Interstates are the arteries that connect the nation and keep people and commerce flowing. When interstates shut down in Missouri, the country is cut in half. Keeping interstates free-flowing is a top priority for MoDOT, but sometimes unplanned incidents affect the department’s ability to keep the interstates moving.  An unplanned incident can be weather related, emergency road and bridge repair,

traffic crashes or other incidents. 

Of the types of unplanned incidents that can occur, traffic crashes create many of the impacts.  Jacobs Engineering Group (Jacobs) has provided results for I-44 and I-70.  Observed crashes represent the actual crashes which occurred.  Predicted crashes represent the number of crashes expected per year based on the configuration and traffic volumes of the roadway.  Expected crashes is a normalization of predicted crashes utilizing observed crashes over a defined time frame to reduce the fluctuation of daily occurrences.

The results shown in the tables reflect the time period of 2014 through 2018 for all crashes.  Both directions for both interstates have a higher expected crash experience than predicted, indicating there is an opportunity to make a positive impact along the corridor.

We continue to work with Jacobs to review and understand the results of the analysis along with brainstorming ways to utilize the information provided to identify focus areas along each corridor.

Purpose of the Measure:

Measure the crash performance of I-44 and I-70 utilizing national analytical standards in order to identify locations which have an opportunity for positive change.

Measurement and Data Collection:

The limits of the interstates analyzed are as follows:

I-44: Oklahoma State Line to Route 100 in Gray Summit

I-70:  Route 7 in Blue Springs to Route Z in Wentzville

Results shown in this measure were provided by Jacobs Engineering Group and were calculated utilizing ISATe spreadsheets developed by AASHTO.  Most of the data used to populate the spreadsheets were pulled from MoDOT’s Transportation Management System (TMS).  Data not available in TMS was field measured or obtained using Google tools.