I worked for Associated Sand & Gravel for many years and in 1954 we paved I-5 from 4th Street in Marysville to Stimson Crossing, which is where Marysville Ford is located.
With the present crisis of lack of funds for highway construction, I believe a second look should be taken at spending $30 million for concrete barriers on this stretch of freeway.
The design at that time was for two northbound lanes and two southbound lanes, separated by approximately a 30 foot width and a moat 6 feet deep.
The speed at that time was limited to 55 mph and later raised to 60 mph. I believe those speeds prevailed for the next 20 years. To my knowledge, there was never a head-on collision with a car getting over into the opposite lanes.
During this period, using 10,000 cars per day as a norm, times 30 days per month, equals 300,000 cars monthly, times 12 months equals 3,600,000 cars yearly, times 20 years equals 72 million cars.
Now if this many cars used this freeway without a fatality, it seems speed is the major cause for wrecks and deaths.
The carnage on our highways is a national disgrace -- approximately 43,000 deaths a year. Stiff penalties must be imposed to stop these deaths.
If it takes a $1,124 fine for speeding instead of $124, so be it!
The $30 million could be better spent on constructing left-hand turning lanes and passing lanes and other safety improvements on secondary highways such as U.S. 2, where wrecks and fatalities are out of control.
