Local & Rural Road Safety | January 2021

Center line and edge line rumble strips and stripes
on a two lane rural road. Source: MnDOT

ACTION

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) was a pioneer in the development of local road safety plans. In 2010, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) started developing county road safety plans for all 87 counties as well as each of their 8 DOT Districts. This showed a commitment to safety on all public roads and included dedicated Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funds for improvements on the local road system (in 2020, MnDOT targeted 50% of HSIP funding for local safety projects). The plans had a focus on systemic safety analysis and broad implementation of low-cost countermeasures at locations with high-risk characteristics for severe crashes. The plans also streamlined the HSIP application and selection process by including pre-filled project recommendation sheets that can be efficiently used by Counties to apply for funding.

RESULT

By the end of 2013, not only were all plans completed, but MnDOT had increased the level of engagement of local highway agencies in the statewide planning process and the HSIP program. After implementation of the county road safety plans, the prioritized (mostly systemic) projects resulted in significant reduction in fatal and serious injury crashes on the county system. Because of the success of the initial plans, MnDOT is funding and currently developing a second round of plans for many of the counties.

RESOURCES

Local Road Safety Plan Do-it-Yourself Website

MnDOT’s Road Safety Plan