Saturday, November 23, 2024

Planning begins for new infrastructure in Effingham County

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EFFINGHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) – After a crash left a woman dead and two other people injured in Effingham less than two weeks ago, the county and the Georgia Department of Transportation have reached an agreement to place a traffic light where the accident occurred.

WTOC has been following the story and spoke with the county manager about their plans to make the intersection safer. In a traffic study the county conducted two years ago, the intersection at Highway 21 and McCall Road in Springfield was determined to be one of the most dangerous in the area.

The county has been working with the Georgia Department of transportation to get a signal warrant so they could place a traffic light at that intersection. County Manager Tim Callanan says they got the preliminary approval in November of 2023.

On Monday, June 17, 45-year-old Laura Devisscher was killed in a crash at the intersection, prompting the county to reach out to GDOT saying this.

“We would like to take up as much of this project as we can to speed it along. And we’re looking at steps to get the traffic light up on a quicker than it normally would on a traditional Georgia Department of Transit contract,” said Callanan.

GDOT has since placed warning lights on stop signs at the intersection to warn drivers that there’s a major intersection ahead. Callanan says the warning lights are temporary pending the addition of the traffic light.

There’s already a preliminary plan under consideration for the traffic light, and depending on GDOT’s approval, Callanan says he hopes it will be installed late next spring if not earlier.

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