There have been a number of wrecks at the intersection of the state's roads Beulah Road and 9-Mile Road.
The latest one resulted in a fatality. Numerous Citizens have expressed concern. And the county is listening.
Last week, we requested FDOT look into this situation for safety's sake via this email, below:
"Escambia County requests the Department conduct a
comprehensive evaluation of the signalized intersection of Nine Mile Road
(State Road 10 / U.S. 90-A) at Beulah Road (State Road 99). The
Design-Build improvements were complete in February 2022 and drivers routinely
request changes to the geometry, pavement markings and traffic signal
operations. The evaluation may need multiple staff with multiple
backgrounds; Design, Safety Office, and Traffic Operations.
One specific concern that routinely comes up is the obscured
view of oncoming thru traffic for the driver turning left on the green
permissive phase. (It appears to be more obscure for the eastbound left
turning vehicle.) Has the Department reviewed the possibility of shifting
the EB left turn lane to the north to provide additional sight distance?
If it is not feasible, please examine changing the traffic signal’s left turn
treatment from protected/permissive mode to protected only mode. There
have been two major crashes with eastbound left turning drivers failing to
yield the right of way and turning in front of a westbound driver in the past
few months. (November
16, 2022 and April
28, 2023). The latest crash resulted in a fatality.
FDOT Design Office is currently managing Project
433113-5-52-01, Beulah Road resurfacing from Mobile Highway (SR 10A/U.S. 90) to
Issacs Lane. There may already be an evaluation complete. If so,
can you forward the document? There may be some short-term
recommendations Escambia County maintenance staff can implement. The
Google Earth KMZ file representing 30% plans is attached.
FDOT provided signalization upgrades during the Design-Build
project that can provide valuable data for the evaluation. The detection
camera provides a variety of data including turning movement counts and 24-hour
counts. I am also available to meet to go over some of the citizen suggestions,
verify measurements in the field and obtain photos.
County Commissioner Bergosh has requested to stay informed
on the progress of this request. I am copying him on this email. As
a courtesy, I am also copying the District Traffic Operations Engineer.
Appreciate your support."
Wednesday of last week, FDOT acknowledged the issue and confirmed they are having the matter looked into.
Good
afternoon Jim,
"We
have tasked Phillip Kurth, with FTE to study this location.
Phillip
Please
see Jim’s email below regarding the Task Assignment for this location that I
sent you earlier. Please work with Jim Hagon on this assignment.
Respectfully,
Tammy Melchi
Traffic Specialist IV
FDOT Traffic Operations Office"
more to come.
1 comment:
We need better driver training and evaluation, too many people simply dont know what to do at intersections so they just hope for the best and go.
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