Quechee
Some residents along Route 4 had complained about the noise, but state officials said the removal of about 2 miles of the centerline rumble strips was driven largely by a policy that looked at the impact of noise and other factors on state highways where rumble strips have been installed.
The strips — which are also known as rumble stripes and are designed to warn drivers who are drifting from their lane of travel into oncoming traffic — were installed along Route 4 in 2013 after a series of fatal accidents on the heavily traveled two-lane road, a major east-west corridor for truck traffic through Vermont.
Small sections of the rumble strips have been paved over, but a majority of the 14-mile stretch of Route 4 between White River Junction and Woodstock still has them.
VTrans Chief Engineer Kevin Marshia said his department conducted a number of studies to update its policy on the centerline rumble strips.
As part of the policy update, which was completed in September 2014, VTrans officials received input from the public, and some complained that the strips were noisy.
Though residents along Route 4 didn’t prompt any policy changes, Marshia said, they were recently accommodated through the revision. The amendment to the policy says that rumble strips should be discontinued where the centerline comes within 100 feet of closely spaced homes. Other guidelines stipulate there shouldn’t be rumble strips where the length of the road segment is less than 500 feet, for example.
Officials wanted to come up with a policy that balanced safety and quality of life, Marshia said.
“(Rumble strips) are making a difference, but you need to balance all needs,” he said.
Asked whether he felt removing sections of rumble strips along Route 4 would impact safety, he replied with a firm “no.”
“To say that filling in (about eight) short segments of rumble stripes will have a negative effect … I don’t know if there is anybody that can make that judgment,” Marshia said. “Is more better? Yes, but we have to balance many, many things.”
The sections of Route 4 that have been altered are clearly denoted this week with a fresh coat of blacktop and yellow reflectors that are commonly placed on pavement before paint striping begins.
They start in White River Junction and run to Woodstock, and range in length from about a half mile to a one-tenth of a mile.
Not only did officials pave over sections of the rumble strips that presented noise concerns to area residents, they also painted over all other sections of strips that didn’t fit with the revised policy, Marshia said.
State Rep. Alison Clarkson, D-Woodstock, said she spoke with at least four couples who expressed noise concerns about the rumble strips.
She said one of their main concerns wasn’t so much with passenger vehicles coming in contact with them, but rather large vehicles such as tractor-trailer units.
“If you have the window open, you are hearing this all the time,” she said. “It is loud and irritating.”
The hum of the strips even kept some of the homeowners up at night, she said.
“In the still of the night, it is really loud,” Clarkson said.
Officials paved over the sections of roadway within the past week or two; Clarkson said she hadn’t heard back from the residents on how the changes have altered the noise level.
Attempts to reach some of the residents on Monday afternoon were unsuccessful.
Clarkson applauded the work of VTrans officials. She said the rumble strips are “fabulous.”
“We have not had a fatality since,” she said. “They are terrific … except when you live 100 to 150 feet from the road.”
VTrans spokesman Erik Filkorn said officials installed the strips on Route 4 “early in the game … and on the heels of some pretty disturbing incidents.”
Car crashes on Route 4 killed five people in three months in 2013.
The crashes prompted state and local officials to act quickly in coming up with solutions to make the roadway safer.
Because of the urgency, he said, officials didn’t have time to fully assess any downsides to rumble strips.
VTrans has seen a 25 to 35 percent reduction in crashes in areas of the state where rumble strips have been installed, he said.
“When we start seeing this type of a reduction in crashes, we have a responsibly to put them in,” Marshia said.
Both Hartford Police Chief Phil Kasten and Woodstock Police Chief Robbie Blish said the rumble strips are serving their purpose, and have reduced the prevalence of serious accidents.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.