SOUTHWICK, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- Guardrails along Route 10 in Southwick have been flagged for roughly 30 locations with significant damage or installation errors, according to a national guardrail safety advocate who brought the issue directly to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

Steve Eimers, a Tennessee-based safety advocate known as “The Guardrail Guy,” said a viewer from Granby, CT contacted him in late May about concerns along Route 10. After reviewing the corridor, Eimers said the initial report did not capture the full scope of the problem.

“Usually, most people don’t really know what awful is and, in this case, he undersold it, rather than oversold it,” Eimers explained. “Massachusetts 10 had about 30 locations with very significant either damage or installation errors.”

Eimers said the most prominent issue involved upside-down rail terminals - components at the end of a guardrail designed to brace it for impact and protect drivers in a crash. “This is a very serious, lethal installation error,” he noted.

Eimers lost his 17-year-old daughter, Hannah, in a fatal guardrail crash in 2016. He now travels the country pushing state transportation departments to address guardrail hazards.

Eimers said he brought the concerns directly to MassDOT leadership. Jonathan Gulliver, the state’s Undersecretary of Transportation and Highway Administrator, said the agency prioritizes public safety when issues are reported.

“The first assessment they do is, is this something that can wait until the next day to be fixed or is it something that has to be fixed immediately? If it’s something that’s fixed immediately, we dispatch crews right away to do it,” Gulliver explained.

Eimers said MassDOT’s response stood out compared to other states.

“I do this same type of story all over the nation and it usually involves criticism, criticism, criticism, criticism, criticism, followed by the DOT finally mitigating the hazard. Here, I just took the concern right to MassDOT and it’s going to be addressed, so this very exemplary positive response,” he added.

MassDOT began repair work on Route 10 on June 11. The agency has not yet provided a timeline for project completion.

Gulliver said drivers who spot a damaged or compromised guardrail should contact MassDOT directly.

“What we want to avoid is having that guardrail entry be knocked off, whether it was hit by a plow truck or a car or whatever it might be, and then leave a jagged piece of metal out there. We want to correct that as quickly as possible,” Gulliver noted. “We want to know about it. We want to get out there. We want to do an assessment. We want to replace anything that’s dangerous.”

Drivers can report guardrail concerns by calling MassDOT at (857) 368-4636 or by visiting mass.gov/contact-massdot.

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