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Trucking company owner says Olathe weigh station is dangerous to drivers on I-35

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When 41 Action News called Travis Van Voorst about the weigh station on southbound I-35 near Lone Elm Road, he immediately had something to say.

"I could see a lot more issues come out of this," Van Voorst told us. 

He owns Double VV, a trucking company based in Kansas City, Kansas. He says it was a combination of inattentive drivers and an inconvenient weigh station that caused a nasty wreck on Wednesday involving one of his trucks and three other vehicles.

The crash happened along southbound I-35 right before the weigh station at mile marker 213.2, just south of the Olathe city limits. It backed up traffic for miles.

"If the trucks are having to come to a complete stop, then they shouldn't be there putting the drivers and trucks in jeopardy," Van Voorst said.

He says his driver was stopped in the right lane waiting to pass through the weigh station when a Nissan Maxima clipped the back of the semi. The Kansas Highway Patrol said the Maxima's driver likely didn’t realize the lane was for commercial trucks until the last minute.  

The crash report says the Maxima’s driver tried to swerve out of the weigh station lane and crashed into two other cars.  The driver of the Maxima wasn't hurt, but the passenger went to the hospital.

Van Voorst says his driver has a little bit of whiplash. 

"That line should be an even-flowing, slow-paced line, but if they see there's too many trucks in the lines, they need to flip the sign to closed," Van Voorst said, referring to the open/closed sign for the weigh station.

KHP oversees the weigh stations, and they told us since the Kansas Department of Transportation lengthened the weigh station lane several years ago, congestion hasn't been an issue.  They added that they are able to keep the stations open longer because they have more staffing.

But Van Voorst says the weigh station’s setup is still a problem. "We hear it all the time from my drivers, from other drivers on the road, regarding that scale," he said.  "It's always backed up and it's dangerous."

The first highway sign warning of the upcoming station is one and three-quarters of a mile ahead of it, but Van Voorst says drivers aren't paying attention until it's too late.

He says it'd be safer to move the weigh station further south, away from heavy traffic.  The highway patrol says it's something KDOT wants to do, but a tight budget is preventing that.

KDOT sent this statement to us:

"KDOT follows national guidelines from the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) when making decisions regarding signing. This includes size of the sign, sign spacing, and sign eligibilities. In this case, there are three overhead signs (one prior to the Lone Elm interchange and two following) and three ground mounted signs (one prior to Lone Elm, one within the interchange, and one after the interchange) that alert drivers to the upcoming weigh station. This meets the design requirements of the MUTCD. KDOT encourages all motorists to practice safe driving habits and use caution when merging into traffic or changing lanes." 

An accident happened in the same area on January 20, 2016, involving at least two semi trucks.