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Illinois Valley residents and others can weigh in Tuesday on plans to improve Redwood Highway.

A final open-house session for the Highway 199 Corridor Plan is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 26, at the Boys and Girl Club, 24353 Redwood Highway, Kerby.

The public will be given a chance to peruse possible improvements — both small- and large-scale — and voice any concerns they may have about specific stretches of the highway between Grants Pass and the California border.

The corridor plan and a related community-involvement committee continues an effort begun in 2019 when highway fatalities were on the rise. ODOT data shows there were 417 reported crashes from 2014 to 2019. Of those, 41 were fatal and severe-injury crashes.

Also known as Redwood Highway, 199 is one of the state’s deadliest. Head-on crashes and other accidents make headlines each year as people navigate intersections and driveways along the highway or run off the road and crash into trees.

Often included on lists of “most dangerous” or “most deadly” roadways in the state and region — though ODOT officials say many of the mishaps are caused by human error and that the road isn’t necessarily more dangerous than other similarly traveled highways — 199 has not seen many improvements or changes in recent decades despite increased use.

Thomas Guevara, a project manager for ODOT, said Tuesday’s meeting would have information from previous open-house sessions, including public input and work done by consultants, for the public to view.

Guevara said a host of things were examined to determine the cause of a spike in crash rates in recent years and how to implement possible remedies.

“It’s one of those things that, yes, there are a lot of crashes, but there’s also a lot of traffic. I think on this highway, what we saw was a lot of the crashes have been recent, in the last five to 10 years. And we were questioning why. Compared to other state highways that go to the coast — similar highways to 199 — it wasn’t actually the worst, but it was still pretty high on the list,” Guevara said.

“What we know for sure is that it’s representative of a high-speed highway that has a lot of traffic and a combination of different types of traffic. ... A lot of new development has occurred along the highway in the last 30 years.”

He added, “People live right on the highway, and they use the highway. There are conflicts with people who live along the highway, with high-speed commuter and truck traffic using the highway. We have people walking on the highway, riding bicycles. ... It’s a main street for some of these communities, and they forget it’s a regional highway, too.”

Guevara said plans were being mapped out to make physical safety improvements, as well as implementation of education and increased law enforcement.

“We’ll be discussing what type of enforcement would be needed to complement those physical improvements and the education program. How do you improve enforcement when you have limited funds? Those are all questions we’ll be going over,” he added.

A major factor in some of the accidents: A portion of the road has no room for error, ODOT officials said.

“You’re limited in making changes to certain areas because large portions of the highway are between a mountain and a river, and there aren’t wide shoulders — nor is there anywhere to put wide shoulders,” Guevara said.

“The reason shoulders become important on a high-speed highway is you can’t avoid another driver if they’re coming right for you. We saw that with some of the head-on crashes. That’s where the education program comes into play. There are certain parts of this highway where you have to use defensive driving because there’s just no recovery area.”

Possible traffic-calming measures and improvements being considered include more signage, turn lanes at certain intersections (so drivers aren’t sitting in a high-speed travel lane waiting to make a left turn), rumble strips and raised medians.

Guevara said while changes and improvements are warranted, Redwood Highway’s reputation as “deadly” was likely due, in part, to its proximity to small communities.

“If you compare crashes, I-5 has far more crashes than 199. What it gets down to, from a statistics standpoint, is that the more people using the highway, the more the percentage of crashes go up,” he said.

“And I think because people live on this highway, they see the crashes in their front yards. On I-5, you don’t really see it unless you’re on I-5. If you’re part of these communities, pretty often you know the victims. You’re seeing the fatalities, and it just feels like it’s hitting home a lot more.”

Guevara said ODOT planning staff and consultant Kittelson and Associates would present findings from past open-house sessions and go over future design treatments at Tuesday’s meeting. The public input process will remain open through Aug. 30 for additional review and comment.

The public can view the virtual open house at: https://bit.ly/3nYBUqX

Input and suggestions on the corridor plan can be sent in writing to: Thomas Guevara, ODOT senior transportation project manager, 3500 N.W. Stewart Parkway, Roseburg OR 97470. Input also can be emailed to Thomas.Guevara@ODOT.Oregon.Gov

Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 541-776-8784 or bpollock@rosebudmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal