Editorial: Authorities should pick up pace in addressing highway trees problem

Another fatality on Interstate 95 in Hardeeville on Monday should push for faster action from the S.C. Department of Transportation.

In this case, the roadside trees the tractor-trailer plowed into may not have caused the death of the driver.

But trees on the section where the tractor-trailer crashed appeared to be about 10 feet from the edge of the interstate. That's too close for the high-speed highway carrying about 45,000 motorists per day.

Federal highway guidelines recommend leaving at least 30 feet between the road's edge and the nearest roadside hazard.

That is clearly a factor in the sad statistics for Jasper County.

The 35-mile stretch of I-95 in Jasper County has been the site of 16 deaths from tree-related crashes during the past five years. That's more than any other South Carolina county along the interstate, leading some to call it the "coffin corridor."

The highway department, which always says it is strapped for cash, has put the Jasper County problem on its radar. That's progress, but it still could be at least 2017 before tree removal and/or the installation of cable barriers in medians.

We understand that this could end up being a large project, and it takes time to get environmental permits to work in the low-lying area. It also will take a lot of money, and DOT says it cannot access the federal dollars until 2017.

But surely something can be done sooner. That could include removing large trees that now stand -- and sometimes fall -- within a few yards of the highway.

The S.C. Highway Patrol and local law enforcement could increase their presence on the interstate to slow drivers down and perhaps help keep their eyes open and their hands on the steering wheel, not the phone.

While it is true that roadside trees do not cause wrecks, they can needlessly cost lives when motorists make mistakes.

In Jasper County, the fatality numbers speak for themselves. Authorities need to pick up the pace in addressing this problem.

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 10:17 PM with the headline "Editorial: Authorities should pick up pace in addressing highway trees problem."