Dead Man's Curve: Difference between revisions
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The most famous "[[Dead Man's Curve (song)|Dead Man's Curve]]," immortalized by the pop duo [[Jan and Dean]], is on [[Sunset Boulevard]] in [[Los Angeles]], California, near the [[Bel Air, Los Angeles, California|Bel Air]] estates just north of [[UCLA]]'s Drake Stadium. |
The most famous "[[Dead Man's Curve (song)|Dead Man's Curve]]," immortalized by the pop duo [[Jan and Dean]], is on [[Sunset Boulevard]] in [[Los Angeles]], California, near the [[Bel Air, Los Angeles, California|Bel Air]] estates just north of [[UCLA]]'s Drake Stadium. |
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<ref>[http://local.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=34.077235,-118.420017&ie=UTF8&ll=34.080353,-118.425493&spn=0.013009,0.029182&t=h&z=15&om=1 Google Maps view] of curve in Los Angeles (Sunset Blvd)</ref> |
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Other highways have sections known as "Dead Man's Curve": |
Other highways have sections known as "Dead Man's Curve": |
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* [[Interstate 20]] just east of the [[Birmingham, Alabama]] [[Birmingham International Airport (US)|airport]], at its junction with [[Interstate 59]]; engineers were forced to build a sudden curve into the highway to avoid a [[cemetery]].<ref>[http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&z=16&ll=33.547261,-86.749377&spn=0.016954,0.026951&t=h&om=1 Google Maps view] of curve in Birmingham</ref> |
* [[Interstate 20]] just east of the [[Birmingham, Alabama]] [[Birmingham International Airport (US)|airport]], at its junction with [[Interstate 59]]; engineers were forced to build a sudden curve into the highway to avoid a [[cemetery]].<ref>[http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&z=16&ll=33.547261,-86.749377&spn=0.016954,0.026951&t=h&om=1 Google Maps view] of curve in Birmingham</ref> |
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* A sharp bend in [[US 50]] (Columbia Parkway) east of Cincinnati, where the east-west highway abruptly turns north.<ref>[http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&z=16&ll=39.111748,-84.429524&spn=0.009757,0.017338&t=h&om=1 Google Maps view] of curve in Cincinnati</ref> |
* A sharp bend in [[US 50]] (Columbia Parkway) east of Cincinnati, where the east-west highway abruptly turns north.<ref>[http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&z=16&ll=39.111748,-84.429524&spn=0.009757,0.017338&t=h&om=1 Google Maps view] of curve in Cincinnati</ref> |
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* A sharp turn on eastbound [[Interstate 70]] near [[Morrison, Colorado]] that is proceeded by a seven mile stretch of a 6.5% grade hill that has been the site of numerous fatal runaway truck accidents.<ref>[http://local.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=39.696555,-105.208511&spn=0.010963,0.024333&t=h&z=15&om=1 Google Maps |
* A sharp turn on eastbound [[Interstate 70]] near [[Morrison, Colorado]] that is proceeded by a seven mile stretch of a 6.5% grade hill that has been the site of numerous fatal runaway truck accidents.<ref>[http://local.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=39.696555,-105.208511&spn=0.010963,0.024333&t=h&z=15&om=1 Google Maps view] of curve in Colorado</ref><ref>{{Citation |
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Revision as of 22:03, 20 August 2007
Dead Man's Curve is the unofficial but commonly used name given to hazardous curves on Interstate and other highways in the United States that have claimed lives due to accidents.
One such curve is a nearly 90-degree turn on Interstate 90 near downtown Cleveland, Ohio, at the point where the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway connects to the Innerbelt Freeway just south of Burke Lakefront Airport[1]. The advisory speed is 35 miles per hour (60 kilometers per hour), although the legal speed limit is 50 mph (80 km/h), as on adjacent sections of the Shoreway and Innerbelt.
Dead Man's Curve was constructed as part of the Innerbelt project in 1959. It soon became apparent that the curve was too sharp for travel at typical Interstate speeds, and in 1965, the state lowered the speed limit from 50 mph to 35 mph. Four years later, authorities completed the first set of safety retrofits, which included banking the curve and installing rumble strips and large signs.
According to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), the crash rate on the Innerbelt (which includes Dead Man's Curve) is two to three times the regional average for urban freeways, despite the reduced speed limits on the roadway. The department is investigating ways of enhancing safety on the stretch, including reducing the degree of the curve. According to a 2003 ODOT count, 95,090 vehicles travel on the curve every day.
The most famous "Dead Man's Curve," immortalized by the pop duo Jan and Dean, is on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, near the Bel Air estates just north of UCLA's Drake Stadium.
Other highways have sections known as "Dead Man's Curve":
- Interstate 83 (Jones Falls Expressway) in Baltimore, MD,[3] although it is not referred to as such.
- A series of curves on Interstate 76 (Schuylkill Expressway) in Philadelphia.[4]
- Interstate 20 just east of the Birmingham, Alabama airport, at its junction with Interstate 59; engineers were forced to build a sudden curve into the highway to avoid a cemetery.[5]
- A sharp bend in US 50 (Columbia Parkway) east of Cincinnati, where the east-west highway abruptly turns north.[6]
- A sharp turn on eastbound Interstate 70 near Morrison, Colorado that is proceeded by a seven mile stretch of a 6.5% grade hill that has been the site of numerous fatal runaway truck accidents.[7][8]
Notes
- ^ Google Maps View of curve in Cleveland
- ^ Google Maps view of curve in Los Angeles (Sunset Blvd)
- ^ Google Maps view of curve in Baltimore
- ^ Google Maps view of curve in Philadelphia
- ^ Google Maps view of curve in Birmingham
- ^ Google Maps view of curve in Cincinnati
- ^ Google Maps view of curve in Colorado
- ^ Gathright, Alan (2007-07-12), "Stretch of I-70 has deadly legacy", Rocky Mountain News, retrieved 2007-07-13
External links
- Pictures of downtown Cleveland roads, including Dead Man's Curve
- Cleveland Innerbelt Plan (Ohio Department of Transportation)
- "Dead Man's Curve could be worse — in fact, it was," by James Sweeney, The Plain Dealer April 22, 2001.
- Encyclopedia of Cleveland History — Innerbelt Freeway
- ODOT traffic counts