USFS sets "crash corner" cure

Motorists and emergency services officials in the area were relieved to learn last week that the Sisters Ranger District plans work on a notorious Highway 20 curve just east of Suttle Lake.

The proposed vegetation treatment near Milepost 88 should provide adequate long- term sunlight on a stretch of pavement which has been the site of numerous winter accidents and some fatalities in the past, owing to unexpected ice and snow on the surface. Work could start as early as this fall unless the Forest Service decision is challenged formally by October 19.

Ken Enoch, assistant chief of the Sisters- Camp Sherman RFPD, said Monday more sunlight on the road would produce less ice, which in turn would result in fewer crashes.

"It will be a big help," said Enoch, but cautioned that the curve itself poses some threat to safety.

Enoch, who has been with the department for five years, said he doesn't have an exact tally of the number of accidents and fatalities Crash Corner has claimed over the years.

"We go on a few calls there every year, and every so often there is a fatality," he said.

The curve radius is sharper than other corners east and west along the highway for several miles, a Forest Service memo noted. In addition, east- bound motorists who are unfamiliar with the curve often operate under the illusion that they have left behind the steep grades, curves and treacherous winter driving conditions of the higher elevations.

The illusion has been costly: the accident rate on that single curve is three times higher than the state average. The problem has been caused largely by the density of trees growing on the south side of the highway, the memo continued. The resulting shade prevents sunlight from melting ice and snow on the roadway as it does highway sections east and west of the curve.

The Oregon Department of Transportation has formally requested the Sisters Ranger District to take remedial action on the south side of the highway. After studying the relation of the road surface and sun angle during the month of December, the Forest Service has determined there is good potential for increasing sunlight to the pavement if enough trees are removed.

The Forest Service proposes a mixture of tree thinning and the creation of small openings for about 1,000 linear feet and from 350 to 500 feet in depth, a total of about seven acres.

The treatment would focus on lower and middle sections of the forest canopy which is primarily responsible for creating shade. Large trees would be retained "wherever possible," according to the announcement.

Traffic control on Highway 20 would occur as necessary during the project.

More information is available from Dick Cozby at the Sisters Ranger District, 549-2111.