BOZEMAN — Saturday night, a crash along Huffine Lane claimed the lives of two people and sent one teenager to the hospital, adding to the concerns raised by people who live and commute to work in the area.
“And leaving, they say, okay, now let's go get on Huffine. You know, they prepare themselves when they leave the store,” says Robin Moran, Owner of the Antique Market.
Moran has seen her fair share of changes along Huffine.
“This used to be like outskirts,” she says.
Moran has owned the antique market along Huffine Lane for 10 years. She says her commute these days is a lot longer.
“I even lose my, where I'm going to turn, my landmarks because there's the construction. It's so aggressive,” says Moran.
Greg Ostrander moved out to the west side of Bozeman and has found himself feeling more frustrated during his commute.
“It’s gotten progressively busier and progressively worse over the last decade,” says Ostrander.
Gabe Priebe is the Montana Department of Transportation Traffic and Safety Engineer. He says the most recent traffic counts on Huffine are around 26,000 vehicles daily.
“In the greater Bozeman area, we have seen an increase in traffic. And I think Huffine is no exception,” says Priebe.
Priebe says most accidents along Huffine are minor, but when impaired driving is involved—less than 10 percent of the time—the accidents are more severe, including last Saturday's double fatal.
“If it did involve impairment we're about three times more likely to involve serious injury or fatality,” says Priebe.
Priebe says there haven’t been any trends on Huffine that would lead to changes along the corridor.
“As far as recent improvements that have been identified, there has been nothing, no major crash trends that have come up. There have been crashes, but nothing that we have deemed that we can go in and target a specific infrastructure improvement,” says Priebe.
MDT says they have been working with law enforcement, something that Sergeant Ryan Jern with the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office says is a priority.
“That's an area that we always patrol pretty consistently,” says Sgt. Jern.
Jern says they have extra patrols looking out for DUIs.
“While responding to other calls, we have guys that will come in sometimes on extra shifts and just focus on DUIs,” he says.
MDT and the Sheriff’s Office also ask the public to be vigilant.
“Encourage drivers to make really good decisions; that is, you know, driving safe, driving sober,” says Priebe.
“Slow down a little bit, take a little more time to get to work. I know people hear that all the time, but I mean, really, if you just give yourself an extra five or 10 minutes,” says Jern.
