'MIRACLE MILE, A SAFETY-PLUS THOROUGHFARE

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS JUNE, 1937 'Miracle Mile,' Safety-

ARIZONA IS TO have a "Miracle Mile"-an almost perfect piece of roadway that will be fool proof! It will be the only safe ty-plus thoroughfare in the West, and as such will put the state in the spotlight of national high ways.

Beginning at the city limits of Tucson, the road will extend for 1.75 miles to ward the Florence-Casa Grande Junc tion on U. S. Highways 80 and 89. It is to be an ultra-modern construction unit with 22-foot roadways divided by a cent er separation strip 38 feet wide. This center parkway, it is believed, will elimi nate whatever hazards have existed in night driving, and with a bordering five inch curb will allow emergency access to the center zone.

Side streets from adjacent subdivided property necessitate the cutting of the island to allow traffic flow across the highway. The wide strip gives crossing vehicles space to wait for through traf fic without obstructing either roadway.

White concrete curbs and gutters on either side of the cent er strip, and a con crete parking strip adjacent to the prop erty will contrast with the black surface of the highway and tend to guide drivers along the active traffic lanes.

At the four corners of the cross streets, curb returns have a radius of 19 feet with a concrete transition section to join the gutter and parking strip, giving the effect of an indented parking lane.

At both ends of the project are right angle turns, at the north end State High way 84 to Casa Grande joining U. S. Highways 80 and 89. To make these turns as safe as possible traffic ovals were designed to regulate the flow of vehicles into separate channels.

Informal development of the separa tion islands will make of the highway a virtual parkway. Abundant cacti and other desert growth will be planted in the area, to diffuse headlight glare, simplify maintenance, and at the same time offer a unique planting area. Along the property line a sidewalk is proposed with a line of native Parkinsonia trees to be planted between the parking area and the sidewalk.

"Records show that a large percentage of the fatal accidents occur on straight, smooth sections of road and involve two or more vehicles in some form of collision and are caused by a car encroaching upon the wrong side of the highway," says H. H. Wessell, Arizona highway en gineer. "Quite often these collisions occur at night or late in the afternoon as the sun is setting. It is natural to conclude that if highways can be built so that the driver is forced to keep his vehicle in its proper traffic lane, the con tributing factors to head on collisions will be practically eliminated.

Plus Thoroughfare

"The divided highway, in its various forms, seems to be a possible solution for minimizing the causes of head-on collisions. Some states are experimenting with 8 to 12 inch low curb separations of concrete or metal, shaped to discourage crossing over, and still allowing safe passage over it in emergencies. Others are using narrow islands about four feet wide, either level with the highway surface or raised a few inches, to separate traffic in opposing directions. Wider widths for islands seem to be most desirable but right-of-way problems enter into the design and keep the separating strips limited in size." In 1912, when Lamar Cobb became the first State Engineer, Arizona's modern road program started. First it was a matter of location of more practicable routes, of cutting down hills so that the early model cars could climb them.

It was after the World War before any particular thought was given to designing roads for speed or heavy truck traffic, and even then safety was a factor not especially strived for.

The mounting death rate from automobile accidents, not only in Arizona but throughout the United States, convinced the federal and state highway officials that roads would have to be constructed with the highest possible degree of safety. For several years much of the road work in Arizona has been along this line.

Highways have been widened, railroad crossings eliminated wherever possible, curves straightened, and nonskid surfacing applied to many of the roads. Approaches to cities, where the flow of traffic is badly congested, have been given special attention.

East Van Buren street, Washington street, and Grand avenue, in Phoenix, the Overpass on Mill avenue in Tempe, are all examples of this type of work.

The particular safety feature represented by the "Miracle Mile" has proved completely satisfactory in Wilmington, Del., Philadelphia, and other eastern cities where traffic is much heavier than in Tucson.

building such a project in Arizona is unknown, but to J. W. Angle, vicechairman of the state highway commission, goes the credit of keeping after it until it was finally projected.

Mr. Angle worked in close cooperation with the mayor and city council, the board of supervisors of Pima county, the Chamber of Commerce, Realty Board, the Sunshine Club, other members of the highway commission, and the Federal Bureau of Public Roads.

Also active in obtaining the development were Latuaro Roca, Roy O'Bannon, Stanley Williamson, Otto Verch, Harry Ransom, and others, all property owners along Oracle Road.

The contract for building the "Miracle Mile" was awarded to the Tanner Construction company at a figure of $163,000. Adding the cost of right-of-way, moving encroachments, etc., the amount to be spent on the project totals more than $200,000.Work has already been started and should be completed by early fall.

RACING THE TRAINS FATAL TO MOTORISTS

The old adage, "pick on someone your own size," is excellent advice to the motorist who feels inclined to race a locomotive to a crossing, suggests the public safety department of the Automobile Club of Southern Calif.For during 1936, 127 persons staked their lives and lost in a reckless game of chance with Death at California railroad crossings.

With many of the fatal accidents occurring on unobstructed crossings, the deceptive speed of a fast-moving train is the logical explanation for the record number of deaths last year, the club believes.

A fast passenger train may travel a thousand feet in a little better than eight seconds, or about the time it takes a motorist to shift gears and get his car rolling. While a train speeding along at this rate might seem a safe distance away, it actually Who first originated the idea of is perilously close to the crossing.