Responding to concerns from Chileno Valley residents, county officials are fixing a menacing hump in the Marshall-Petaluma Road that has caused two severe accidents since 1995.

Signs went up this week warning drivers to slow down for the sudden seven-foot rise, and bulldozers will soon begin leveling the road, said Farhad Mansourian, the chief assistant director of the Department of Public Works.

"We are flattening the hump," Mansourian told The Light. "It should be done in a couple of weeks, weather permitting."

Mansourian said the county was prompted to sudden action after meeting with local residents at Laguna School on Oct. 8, less than two weeks after Cathy Dolcini, 15, and Melissa Scarborough, 16, were severely injured when Scarborough's car lost control driving over the hump.

In 1995, the hump was the site of a fatal car accident that took the lives of Cathy Dolcini's 16-year-old sister, Sara, and her cousin Jonathan Dolcini, 10.

But those who attended the recent meeting - including Supervisor Steve Kinsey, the Fire Department, the Highway Patrol, and the Department of Public Works - said the discussion was about remedying the situation instead of placing blame.

"This was a positive meeting," Mansourian said. "Everybody left saying we'll do something."

Chileno Valley resident Elaine Dolcini, the aunt of three of the accident victims, said she was "delighted" by the county's response. "They were sincerely concerned," she said. "I've never seen government move so fast."

Dolcini said she trusts the signs and improvements will prevent any more tragedies. "We're hoping this will do the trick," she said.