Dead Man's Curve

A section of the 1915 Ridge Route in Lebec, California, abandoned when US 99 (later upgraded to I-5) was constructed over the Tejon Pass in order to make travel straighter and safer.

Dead man's curve is a nickname for a curve in a roadway that has claimed lives because of numerous traffic accidents.^[1][2] The term is in common use in the United States.

United States

Alabama

• Interstate 20 east of the Birmingham International Airport, at its junction with Interstate 59; engineers built a curve into the highway to avoid a cemetery.^[3]
• Interstate 59 about 4 miles north of Gadsden. The S-shaped curve was built to avoid running into a steep mountain.
• A sharp turn in a series of sharp bends on Kali Oka Road, in Saraland, just south of a Crybaby Bridge.

California

An S-shape connector on the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, as seen on September 29, 2009, from the U.S. Coast Guard station on Yerba Buena Island

• A curve on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles memorialized in the hit song "Dead Man's Curve" by Jan and Dean
  • Some say it is a nearly 90° right turn traveling west on Sunset Boulevard just past North Whittier Drive.^[4][5]
  • Others say it is located near the Bel Air estates north of UCLA's Drake Stadium going eastbound (not westbound as in the song). While an accident involving voice actor Mel Blanc prompted safety improvement, the curve remains today.^[6]
  • Others remember the location as the curve at Evans Road going westbound (as in the song),^[7] a decreasing radius blind turn to the left with a downhill entry. Maximum speed in the first half of the turn is too fast for the last half of the turn, making it all too easy to lose control, run off the road and crash.
• A temporary S-shape curve on the eastern span of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (part of Interstate 80). After its installation on September 8, 2009, to divert traffic as part of a replacement project, 43 accidents took place, including one fatal crash.^[8]
• A sharp turn in the shape of a "U" on SR 76 in San Diego County, near Red Gate Road.^[9] The curve has claimed the lives of many motorcyclists.

Colorado

• A sharp turn on eastbound Interstate 70 near Morrison that is preceded by a 7-mile (11 km) stretch of a 6.5% grade downslope, which has been the site of numerous fatal runaway truck accidents.^[10][11]
• A high-banked turn on eastbound US 50 just west of Cañon City that is preceded by an 8-mile (13 km) stretch of downslope, which has caused several vehicles to go over the banked edge and wreck.^[12]

Hawaii

• A sharp turn at the end of Kapaa Quarry Road, which is a dimly lit utility road in Kailua, Honolulu County, that has claimed eight fatalities and is considered one of Oahu's haunted roads.^[13][14]

Illinois

• In Towanda, Illinois, an almost 90° Dead Man's Curve on the original Old U.S. Route 66 was the site of many accidents; a number of which ended in fatalities. The roadbed was eventually turned into a park and walking trail.^[15]

Indiana

• In Indianapolis, a curve on Interstate 70 westbound at mile marker 83.1^[16] When opened, it had a negative camber on the right shoulder, and several truckers lost control and hit the a bridge abutment, losing their lives. The stretch was closed, re-engineered with a positive bank and with rain slots along the boundary and was reopened with a 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) speed limit.

Kentucky

• A treacherous stretch of Interstate 75 in Northern Kentucky, originally known as "Death Hill" and now known as "Cut-in-the-Hill."^[17]

Louisiana

• In northern Bossier Parish, a sharp curve on Louisiana 157 (Hickory Drive), just inside the city limits of Plain Dealing, south of the town cemetery.^[18]

Maryland

• Interstate 83 (Jones Falls Expressway) in Baltimore.^[19]

Michigan

• In Marquette Township, Marquette County, Dead Man's Curve referred to a curve on County Road 492 (previously a part of M-15), where the first state highway centerline in the United States was painted.^[20][21] Geographical coordinates: 46°31′54″N 87°28′26″W / 46.5318°N 87.474°W
• In Milford, MI, Oakland County (42°33'37.4"N 83°35'50.0"W)

Missouri

• Sharp turn on Missouri State Route 34 just east of Garwood, in Reynolds County.
• Missouri letter Hwy A in Franklin County between Washington and Krakow (38°31′14″N 91°02′14″W / 38.520580°N 91.037139°W)

New Mexico

• Near Mesita, a 180º bend in the road to the left on Historic U.S. Route 66 nicknamed "Dead Man's Curve"^[22]
• Between Albuquerque and Tijeras, State Road 333 (previously known as U.S. Route 66) makes a sudden curve near the I-40 overpass. This stretch of highway has earned its name because of the rocky cliffs on the south side of the highway, and frequent deer traffic contributes to its hazardousness^[23][24][25]

New York

• A 90º turn on New York State Route 17 in Binghamton, near the junction with Interstate 81 and Interstate 88, which also goes by the name Kamikaze Curve. The tight curve, which hugs Prospect Mountain along the Chenango River, is slated for improvements as part of NY 17's upgrade to Interstate 86.
• Broadway curves around Union Square between 13th Street and east 18th Street in Lower Manhattan. The IRT must navigate the curve under the streets.

Ohio

Dead Man's Curve in Cleveland, Ohio

• The nearly 90º turn on Interstate 90 near downtown Cleveland, officially called the "Innerbelt Curve",^[26] at the point where the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway connects to the Innerbelt Freeway at a modified trumpet interchange just south of Burke Lakefront Airport.^[27][28] The advisory speed is 35 miles per hour (56 km/h), although the maximum speed limit is 50 miles per hour (80 km/h), as on adjacent sections of the Shoreway and Innerbelt.^[29] Location: 41°31′02″N 81°40′31″W / 41.5173°N 81.6754°W

Dead Man's Curve was constructed as part of the Innerbelt project in 1959.^[30] At the time, Interstate 90 had been planned to continue westward on the Shoreway, connecting with its current location via the never-built Parma Freeway.^[31] It soon became apparent that the curve was too sharp for travel at typical Interstate speeds, and in 1965, the state lowered the speed limit from 50 mph (80 km/h) to 35 mph (56 km/h). Four years later, authorities completed the first set of safety retrofits, which included banking the curve and installing rumble strips and large signs.^[32]

According to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), the crash rate on the Innerbelt (which includes Dead Man's Curve) is two to three times the regional average for urban freeways, despite the reduced speed limits on the roadway. The department has investigated ways of enhancing safety on the stretch, including a complete realignment of the roadway to reduce the degree of the curve.^[33][34] As of 2014 the proposed configuration of the curve as presented in the ODOT Innerbelt Plan^[26] is still planned to be built but not until the mid-2020s.^[35][36] According to a 2013 ODOT count, 64,720 vehicles travel on the curve every day.^[37]

• A sharp bend in U.S. Route 50 (Columbia Parkway) east of Cincinnati^[38]
• Sharp turn 5 on Interstate 75 just north of downtown Dayton^[39]

Oregon

• On the Mount Hood Scenic Byway between Zigzag and Government Camp^[40]

Pennsylvania

• The northern terminus of Interstate 476 in Clarks Summit is a 180° turn, with an advisory speed limit of 20 miles per hour (32 km/h), created in order to access a toll plaza before the interchange with Interstate 81.
• On U.S. Route 22 in Easton, there are several dangerous sharp turns that go past a graveyard.^[41] (This is most commonly known as "Cemetery Curve" for that reason.) Streetlights were installed to help cut down on nighttime crashes; the lightposts are themselves frequent victims of collisions.^[42]

South Carolina

• A dangerous curve on South Carolina Highway 9 about 10 miles west of Chester, South Carolina, is responsible for several fatal crashes.^[43] Deceased drivers' families and Chester County officials have been lobbying the South Carolina Department of Transportation to improve road safety.

Texas

• A sharp, sudden turn on U.S. Route 175 (C. F. Hawn Freeway) at the interchange with SH 310 southeast of downtown Dallas.^[44] After a fatal truck accident in 2008, the state installed additional beacons and also flashing chevrons to further draw motorists' attention to the hazard. As of 2010, the department of highways is studying plans to eliminate this curve by extending the C. F. Hawn Freeway westward to Interstate 45.

Netherlands

Zoomweg

• A sharp, sudden turn on A59 at the interchange with A4 south of Helwijk.^[45]

Zoomland

• As well a sharp, sudden turn on A58 at the interchange with A4 east of Bergen Op Zoom.^[46]

See also

• Hairpin curve

References

1. Allen, Irving Lewis (1995). The City in Slang: New York Life and Popular Speech. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509265-1 – via Google Books. A bend in any road that has a history of vehicular accidents always seems to be called Dead Man's Curve.
2. Algar, Selim (October 8, 2012). "Police: 4 Killed in Gruesome Long Island Accident: Driver Only Had Learner's Permit". New York Post. Retrieved August 8, 2015. The site is so frequently the scene of horrific accidents, first responders call it 'Dead Man’s Curve'.
3. Google Maps view of curve in Birmingham
4. "Dead Man's Curve". Urban Legends Reference Pages. Snopes.com. May 23, 2007. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
5. Google (August 25, 2015). "Curve in Los Angeles (Sunset Boulevard)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
6. Google (5 November 2016). "Location of Mel Blanc's crash on Sunset Blvd at UCLA" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
7. Google (August 25, 2015). "Sunset Boulevard and Evans Road" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
8. Lee, Henry K.; Michael Cabanatuan; Jaxon Van Derbeken (November 10, 2009). "Changes coming to Bay Bridge after death plunge". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
9. Google (August 25, 2015). "SR 76 and Red Gate Road in San Diego County" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
10. Google Maps view of curve in Colorado
11. Gathright, Alan (2007-07-12). "Stretch of I-70 has deadly legacy". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
12. Google Maps view
13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 24, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
15. "The Mother Road: Historic Route 66 - Dead Man's Curve". Retrieved 5 October 2014.
16. Google Maps view of I70 west at mile marker 83.1 in Indianapolis
17. Google Maps view of curve in Covington, Kentucky
18. Google Maps view of curve in Plain Dealing
19. Google Maps view of curve in Baltimore
20. Kulsea, Bill; Shawver, Tom (1980). Making Michigan Move: A History of Michigan Highways and the Michigan Department of Transportation. Lansing: Michigan Department of Transportation. p. 10.
21. Federal Highway Administration (1977). America's Highways, 1776–1976: A History of the Federal-Aid Program. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. p. 127. OCLC 3280344.
22. "The Mother Road: Historic Route 66 - Turn by Turn Road Description - New Mexico". Retrieved 5 October 2014.
23. 2
24. "Google Maps". Retrieved 5 October 2014.
25. "New Mexicans move to make roads more wildlife-friendly". Retrieved 5 October 2014.
26. Chapter 4.0: Conceptual Alternatives – Innerbelt Curve, Cleveland Innerbelt: Conceptual Alternatives Study, Ohio Department of Transportation/Burgess & Niple/URS Corporation, 2006-08-11. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
27. "Encyclopedia of Cleveland History — Innerbelt Freeway". Retrieved 5 October 2014.
28. Google Maps view of curve in Cleveland
29. Ohio Department of Transportation (2007-05-16). District 12 Speed Zones. p. 5.
30. Sweeney, James (2001-04-22). "Dead Man's Curve could be worse - in fact, it was". The Plain Dealer.
31. Ohio Department of Highways. "1957-1958 Biennial Report excerpt". Retrieved 2012-07-22.
32. Cabanatuan, Michael (2009-11-11). "Ideas offered to slow S-curve motorists". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
33. Sweeney, James (2001-04-22). "Roadblock to improving safety; Inner Belt changes being studied, but Dead Man's Curve might be dead end". The Plain Dealer.
34. Marshall, Aaron (2012-07-22). "Cleveland's Dead Man's Curve Not Going to Stop Tipping Trucks Anytime Soon". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
35. Contract Group 4, Innerbelt Plan
36. Grant, Alison (2014-08-12). "Traffic Congestion Easing across Northeast Ohio". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
37. Cuyahoga County Annual Average Daily Traffic 2013 (PDF) (Map). Ohio Department of Transportation. 2013.
38. Google Maps view of curve in Cincinnati
39. Google Maps view of curve in Dayton
40. Google Maps view of curve in on the Mount Hood Scenic Byway
41. Google Maps view of curve in Easton
42. "Shine the lights on Cemetery Curve; Tuesday will be a great day for no-shows - Oct. 28 letters to the editor". Easton Express-Times. 2010-10-28. Retrieved 2010-12-15.
43. Ritter, Jana. "Recent Fatal Crash Prompts Action To Fix "Deadman's Curve"". TruckDrivingJobs.com. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
44. Google Maps view of curve in Dallas
45. Google Maps view of curve in Zoomweg
46. Google Maps view of curve in Zoomland

External links

• Video of Cleveland's Dead Man's Curve westbound (0:44) on YouTube