WAYNESBORO, Ga. () – Seven crashes, two serious injuries, and three deaths.
That’s what the Burke County Sheriff’s Office has seen happen at the intersection of Highway 25 and Coleman Young Road.
Now, they’re asking the Georgia Department of Transportation to study this area to prevent future accidents.
These numbers are part of data collected by the Sheriff’s Office over the last 5 years.
Officers say the crashes are due to limited visibility for drivers because of overgrowth and vegetation.
“Yesterday, I measured the distance from the stop bar to the nearest observable point in the right-hand lane. The first vehicle was seen about 550 feet away,” explained Major Brandon Reeves.
This prompted Reeves to send a letter to the GDOT commissioner last week, requesting the agency to inspect the intersection.
“Vehicle traveling 65 miles per hour, which is the posted speed limit, will be on top of you in just a flash,” Reeves said.
Representatives from GDOT acknowledge the submission and are set to review incident reports and crash statistics as part of a regular safety evaluation.
“Following that, they will assess possible actions—decide if short-term corrections that are cost-effective can be implemented by us, or if the situation calls for a comprehensive solution like a major project,” explained Will Volk, the communications specialist for District 2.
The Sheriff’s Office is looking for GDOT to cut vegetation back to improve visibility for drivers.
But Volk says before they do that, there’s a few hurdles they need to jump through first.
“If visibility issues due to line of sight are detected, we can consider trimming the vegetation,” Volk noted. “However, it’s unclear if those trees are within the state’s jurisdiction; if located on private property, we can’t just remove them without a process. That could involve another procedure as well.”
We did speak with the property owner who did not want to go on camera.
Volk mentioned local officials have contacted him for approval to operate in the area, and he is eager to contribute to enhancing safety there.
The Sheriff’s Office says they have talked to the property owners as well, and want to come to the best solution to make the area safer for drivers.
“We’re already negotiating with two local property owners, aiming to resolve this. Clearing those trees as planned should significantly diminish the number of accidents at that intersection,” stated Reeves.
GDOT says they plan to review this area soon.
With other projects and intersections on the list, they’re hoping to have a plan for their course of action by the end of September.
“It’s a 27-county district, so our traffic operations staff is looking at several different intersections, but this one will definitely be added to the list,” said Volk. “They’re going to get the ball rolling soon, but I think we’ll have a good plan in place by the end of next month.”
