This Wauna Curves Guardrail is a Magnet for Mishaps and Mischievous Local Commentary

That one Wauna curves guardrail. Yes, that infamous one. It has been a stoic symbol of resilience on the Key Peninsula for the last three years.

All it can do is sit there, steadfastly, between mileposts 13.9 and 14 on westbound State Route 302. Waiting to be the next crash victim. Again.

If there are any positive vibes to send its way, it’s that it has already met its annual quota for bends, bangs, bumps and bruises. Then again, it’s only May.

According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, this unfortunate guardrail has already needed repairs or replacement three times this year. The same guardrail was hit three times in 2023 and another three times in 2022. That’s an average of about once every three months since 2021.

This guardrail’s main job was seemingly to protect westbound drivers from veering off the right side of the road as SR 302 curves left, but now it seems more like it is protecting an innocent power pole and hapless blackberry brambles from distracted drivers.

April was the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

“By driving distracted, you’re robbing yourself of seconds that you may need to avoid a close call or deadly crash,” according to the administration website.

This particular guardrail on SR 302 comes up quickly after a left curve in front of it and could easily be missed if a driver is distracted or impaired.

Though the accident-prone guardrail has been the butt of jokes on local Facebook groups as of late, repairing it is no laughing matter, sometimes costing taxpayers up to tens of thousands of dollars.

“Whenever possible, we try to recoup the costs,” said April Leigh, a spokes- person for WSDOT.

She said it typically takes about five people to repair this guardrail, depending on the severity of the damage, and may slow down traffic considerably in both directions for a good chunk of the day.

Despite all these challenges, the Wauna curves guardrail is here to stay. Well, unless it gets knocked a few feet to the right and then needs replacing sometime in the next three months. But until then, it’s here to stay.