Thumbnail photo: After Caltrans announced Tuesday that a project to install a roundabout at U.S. 199 and Elk Valley Cross Road will start in April, Del Norte Local Transportation Commissioner Executive Director Tamera Leighton said the intersection is "probably the most dangerous place to be" in the county. | Map courtesy of the DNLTC Calling herself a “data girl,” Tamera Leighton highlighted the role accurate statistics play in making safety improvements on local roads. Addressing negative Facebook chatter regarding a roundabout slated to be installed at Elk Valley Cross Road and U.S. 199 this spring, the Del Norte Local Transportation Commission executive director said her family drives these roads too. “That intersection is probably the most dangerous place to be in Del Norte County,” Leighton said, adding that a 2020 study of the Elk Valley Cross Road corridor found that the intersection’s collision rate is 811% greater than the statewide average for similar intersections. “Since this document was produced, my son’s car was totaled at this intersection. My first cousin was in a serious collision a few months ago. She still hasn’t been able to go back to work. It’s my job, sure, but it’s also my family. It’s your families.” Leighton spoke to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday after Caltrans representatives announced that construction on the roundabout is expected to start in April as is a long-awaited endeavor to widen lanes and modify curves U.S. 199 and State Route 197. According to Richard Mullen, deputy director for Caltrans District 1, the 197/199 Safe STAA Access project will include four-hour planned closures of U.S. 199 and 197 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., though a specific start date isn’t set yet. Caltrans has selected Arcata-based McCullough Construction as the general contractor for the STAA 197/199 project, though final contract approval is still pending, department spokesman Myles Cochrane told Redwood Voice Community News on Wednesday. Once that contract has been finalized, “scheduling discussions are going to get a little bit more serious,” he said. “It looks like construction could start around April if everything goes well,” Cochrane said. “The work could be in multiple locations at once. There may be a chance that we’re going to have planned longer closures during the day time, but that would be something that happens (after) a lot of outreach and multiple social media posts.” A preliminary injunction spearheaded by the conservation groups Friends of Del Norte, the Environmental Protection Information Center, or EPIC, and the Center for Biological Diversity stalled the STAA 197/199 project for nearly a decade. They argued that Caltrans had inadequately analyzed the risks and that the project would lead to more accidents that could threaten the Smith River. A federal judge lifted the injunction in 2023 after state and federal agencies conducted another review of the project’s environmental impact. On Tuesday, Mullen said that the project would require blasting in the narrows above Patrick Creek Lodge on U.S. 199. Caltrans will be using the same communication plan it used in 2023 during the recovery from the Smith River Complex wildfires, he said. “The big effort in this job is to remove some rock along the narrows, which requires blasting and creative measures to bring that down,” he said. “And when you blast you need to contain along the river to minimize any debris going into the river, so there’s containment. And then we need to make sure we’re opening up the highway, removing materials on the highway and making sure it’s safe for traffic to pass through.” The STAA 197/199 project highway closures are expected to last about a year, though Mullen said that could change. Caltrans will coordinate with the Oregon Department of Transportation to make sure motorists coming from Cave Junction and Grants Pass will be informed about the closures, he said. The STAA 197/199 project is another important safety project, Leighton said, calling U.S. 199 “by far our most deadly highway.” “All of the top 10 dangerous locations on 199 are contained within the project that’s incoming,” she said, acknowledging the challenge the highway closures pose. “I know it’s going to be a problem. It’s going to be a problem for me and my family. My parents are in their 80s and I take them to medical appointments in Medford. We’re all going to need to coordinate, but we’re going to save ourselves by moving this forward.” Speaking to the roundabout project at Elk Valley Cross Road and U.S. 199, Mullen said it should be done in a season, though an official start date hasn’t been determined yet. Leighton said the project will also include changes to the intersection of U.S. 199 and Kings Valley Road, though there’s more traffic on Elk Valley. Though he acknowledged that it might be an inconvenience to some Del Norters, Tim Haban said he’s glad the roundabout project is nearing construction. Having lived near that intersection for about 40 years, Haban said he’s seen countless accidents and two fatalities. “In July 2014 we lost our mother there in a horrible traffic accident, so the family got together and said something has to be done,” he said, crediting District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard for his work in advocating for the roundabout. “It will save lives. There might be a fender bender or two, but the bottomline is you’re going to get to work, I’m going to get to work and we’re going to get home.”