With the biggest holiday travel day coming today and the Civil War football game Saturday, Oregon State Police and other police agencies will be keeping an eye on traffic on Highway 34, part of which recently became a double-fine zone.

The highway was in the spotlight earlier this month because of saturation patrols to enforce traffic laws.

Between Corvallis and Interstate 5, Highway 34 is one of 12 designated safety corridors in the state, said Anne Holder, roadway safety program manager for the Oregon Department of Transportation.

It was named a safety corridor in 1993, a status given to sections of highway that have high rates of serious accidents. There were 84 crashes there in 2005 and 55 in 2006, Holder said.

This month, there have been at least 14 crashes on the highway.

Placards saying “traffic fines double” were added in October.

Lt. Mark Cotter, who supervises the Albany OSP office, said troopers have not yet been issuing the double fines, but they will.

He said the fines, which are set by the Legislature, aren’t exactly double. For example, the fine for traveling 70 mph in a 55 mph zone would normally be $145, but in the double-fine zone it’s $206. The standard fine for following too closely is $242. It becomes $349.

Cotter said OSP doesn’t see any of the money generated from the tickets. Albany-area troopers cite people to the most convenient justice court near where they live or to circuit court.

“It doesn’t affect our enforcement,” Cotter said. “The enhancement fine by design is another tool to help reduce crashes.”

Today, the heaviest travel day of the year, OSP will have extra troopers watching for people not wearing their seat belts, speeding, and fatigued and impaired drivers.

The Albany OSP office, which patrols part of Interstate 5 and state highways in Benton and Linn counties, plans to have eight patrol cars working, compared with one to three on a normal shift.

Heavy traffic is also expected Saturday, when Oregon State University hosts the Civil War football game with the University of Oregon. Troopers watching for traffic violations and drunken drivers on Highway 34 will be joined by Linn County sheriff’s deputies and a traffic officer from the Albany police. Deputies say they will spend time on Peoria Road as well; they anticipate lots of traffic there on game day.