HR0927

LRB095 16576 LCT 44816 r






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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, Steel cable strung in highway medians is a 
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low-cost safety device that is proving phenomenally effective 
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at saving lives, perhaps more so than steel-beam or concrete 
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barriers; and 

 
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    WHEREAS, Steel-beam, concrete, and cable barriers all cut 
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down on accidents in which cars cross over into oncoming 
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traffic; cable, however, also cuts down on the number of 
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rebound accidents in which a vehicle hits a barrier and bounces 
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back into traffic; and cable performs better than other 
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barriers when installed on the moderately sloping terrain 
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common to many existing medians; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Because cable barriers are considerably cheaper, 
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states can install them in medians where motorists had no 
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protection before; cable costs about 30% less than steel and 
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50% less than concrete; and 

 



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    WHEREAS, Several other states have installed cable 
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barriers and have had dramatic drops in fatalities and injuries 
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from crossover accidents; Missouri saw a 92% decrease, down to 
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only 2 deaths, in 2006, after the state installed cable 
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barriers along Interstate 70; therefore, be it
 
 


 






HR0927
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LRB095 16576 LCT 44816 r




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    RESOLVED, BY THE  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
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request that the Department of Transportation conduct a study 
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on the advisability of expanding the use of cable barriers in 
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Illinois and report its findings and recommendations to the 
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General Assembly no later than July 1, 2009; and be it further 

 
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    RESOLVED,  That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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delivered to the Secretary of Transportation.