A new guard rail was put up Wednesday at the sharp 90-degree curve along Hatton Highway, where nine were killed on Monday as an SUV crashed through a guard rail and went into a canal.
"I can't even imagine what the families are going through," said County Commissioner Sarah Baxter, whose district includes the crash site.
The reaction was similar from the former county commissioner of that district, who says she has been concerned about Hatton Highway for years.
"The first thing I noticed about Hatton Highway is it was deadly," said Melissa McKinlay, who says she's lobbied the county since 2010 to make improvements on the roadway.
"I'm really angry because these roads in these communities have been long forgotten."
Hatton Highway makes its way through agricultural plots with sharp 90-degree turns and rutted pavement from sinking muck underneath.
"Often times it's not intentional as these roads link up to dirt roads that existed way before automobiles," said Eric Dumbaugh, associate director of the Collaborative Sciences Center for Road Safety at FAU.
He says it's not unusual for rural roads to sometimes be neglected with costly repairs and improvements.
Region C Palm Beach County
NTSB provides update on fatal crash on Hatton Highway
"You're going to focus on those areas that are the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people. A rural highway that carries 200 or 300 vehicles per day is not going to be very high on that priority list," he said.
But according to Commissioner Baxter, that may be changing.
New state funding, she says, is giving priority to rural, farm-to-market roadways.
"Now that we have a funding source provided by this last legislative cycle from the state to add dollars to the farm-to-market roads, you're going to see some changes coming," Baxter said.
She adds she is looking at some possible short-term fixes to the guard rail and flashing sign that's already there.
"I would like to see if there is a potential for more reflective tape or more reflective object, that again, just makes it stand out even more."
