The Intersection at US93 & Pierce Ferry Rd was Made More Dangerous by Setting Up a Secondary Crash Zone

Why is US93 Such a Dangerous Highway

The intersection at US93 and Pierce Ferry Rd was made far more dangerous by the recent upgrade. Like many locals ADOT must have thought people from other countries that drive on the left side of the road were stopping to cross northbound US93, then looking the wrong way and pulling out in front of northbound traffic. 

The upgraded turn lane comes off at an angle so southbound traffic turning onto Pierce Ferry Rd stops looking directly at northbound US93 traffic. The design had the unintended consequence of creating a new crash zone.

Before the upgrade southbound US93 traffic would use a “normal” turn lane where the driver moves into the turn lane and then makes a 90° turn and stops facing traffic on Pierce Ferry Rd. Like in the example below, two vehicles could cross US93 at the same time without crossing paths. One crossing northbound US93 and turning south into the speed up lane, and one crossing the northbound lanes of US93 and continuing on Pierce Ferry Rd

The upgrade changed the intersection so southbound US93 traffic comes off at an angle and stops looking at north bound traffic on US93. As you can see below this design sets up a new crash zone. Also the driver at the stop sign on Pierce Ferry Rd waiting to cross northbound traffic sees a warning sign that says “Traffic from the Left Does Not Stop”.

The problem is while the driver is looking for high speed traffic on US93 from the left, that Mustang sitting there hits you from the right. 

Doesn't ADOT have a computer that analyzes these changes? Didn't an ADOT traffic engineer see this additional crash point as a problem? Here’s the crash zone again… Who has the Right of Way? Usually, the vehicle on the right has right of way, but here?

Recently Rosie’s Café was remodeled and now we have the new TA Express, Pilot and Last Stop Travel Centers on US93. We’ve also seen an increase in the number of accidents because of the additional traffic entering and leaving these new travel centers.

 The TA Express has a slight curve going northbound making it difficult to see semi’s crossing US93 especially at night. 

We recently had a double fatality accident when a northbound car slid under a semi trailer.

Another problem is response time and resources. The Lake Mohave Ranchos Fire District only has one ambulance that covers 2200 square miles. including the first 50 miles of US93. That's an area larger than the state of Delaware. If the ambulance is busy transporting a patient from the Hoover Dam area it can take up to 3 hours for it to clear the hospital and respond to an accident on US93 and an additional hour to arrive at the emergency room.

Medical helicopters are used in the area, but fire or law enforcement needs to be on scene to land the helicopter and flight times can take 1-2 hours for helicopter transport Las Vegas.

Response times for DPS can take up to an hour to calls on US93.

The dangers of US93 are a combination of factors. The rural location, poor highway design, and availability of emergency medical services make for an extremely dangerous highway...