Barb Rose hopes to improve safety on I-94

Barb Rose poses for a portrait on the Sargent Road bridge over I-94 on Wednesday, March 12, 2014 near where she had an accident six years ago that left her in a coma for about a week. (Michelle Tessier | MLive.com)

JACKSON, MI – After six years, it’s still hard for Barb Rose to talk about the crash that nearly took her life.

She was westbound on I-94 after leaving her sister’s Ann Arbor home, and, as the roads were slushy, made sure to drive under the speed limit. As she neared the Sargent Road exit, her car fishtailed, crashing into a ditch.

“The next thing I knew I woke up and was in the U of M hospital,” she said. That was one week after the crash. She doesn’t remember first responders using the “Jaws of Life” to cut her out of her car.

Rose thinks twice about entering I-94, and she likely isn’t alone.

In 2012, there were 892 crashes along the 30-mile stretch of I-94 in Jackson County. In the past decade, there have been nearly 10,000 crashes on that stretch of roadway.

The stretch of highway in question hasn't met state standards in decades. Built in the early 1950s, it's one of the oldest and narrowest sections in the country and many of the original features remain.

Narrow roads and shorter ramps are some of the structural issues that can make I-94 unsafe for drivers.

“We’ve outgrown that roadway,” said Jackson Sheriff Steven Rand. “It’s a narrow section with a lot of quick on-and-offs.”

While human error is the leading role in most crashes, infrastructure can also be a factor. State officials have studied and identified “crash clusters” along this stretch and are working, as funds become available, to make improvements.

Nathalie Burnside, who drives a semitrailer, said she tries to avoid the Jackson County section of I-94, especially where the shorter ramps make it hard to avoid oncoming traffic.

When driving in the far right lane, Burnside must either merge into the left lane to allow for cars to merge onto I-94, or slow down.

“It’s not easy to move over when people are getting on the highway when you drive a 53-foot truck, and although I try to slow down to let traffic merge onto the highway, some drivers decide to stop instead of speeding up, almost causing an accident,” she said in an email.

MDOT officials at the University Region are attempting to move forward with a modernization project that was expected to cost $409 million in 2005.

The entire nine-mile modernization project includes replacing or improving bridge structures and widening the I-94 corridor from the M-60 interchange to the Sargent Road interchange. Multiple interchange improvements also are part of the plan as well as shifting parts of I-94 slightly to the south. Lane widening most likely won’t take place until after 2025.

Grass Lake resident Betty Simonis said she has experienced some “close calls” when trying to maneuver the westbound Cooper Street on-ramp.

“I have been practically run off the freeway by trucks,” she said. “Often trucks can’t move to the left lane because of heavy traffic and they can’t slow down as quickly as a car can.”

For Rose, who spent more than four months recovering from 17 broken bones, including her sternum, clavicle, cheekbone and 11 ribs and a traumatic brain injury, the crash still plays a significant role in her daily life. She’s looking for a job, but has her sights set on Lansing — just to avoid the highway that nearly killed her.

“I don’t drive it now unless I absolutely have to,” she said.