Kansas department of transportation employee Gary Fox, at left, watches traffic while Sheldon Monroe, center, and Rusty Davenport work on a grinding machine just north of the Baldwin Junction, the intersection of U.S. Highways 59 and 56. The KDOT workers spent Monday carving rumble strips, grooves 1/8 of an inch deep, into the asphalt on U.S. 59 to warn north- and southbound motorists of new stop signs at the intersection.
Baldwin Junction — It's a project that was rushed in the midst of the planning process, and state highway workers ran into difficulties again Monday at making the notorious Baldwin Junction 10 miles south of Lawrence a four-way stop.
"This is just not the way to do it. We need more planning time," said Earl Bosak, area engineer for the Kansas Department of Transportation.
Bosak and his crew were ordered to put up the stop signs on U.S. Highway 59 Friday after KDOT Secretary Deb Miller's office had received calls demanding the signs be implemented following the accident one week ago that killed Charlene Pohl, 84, of Baldwin.
The crew was originally given until mid-August to make the change, and they just received the equipment on Friday, Bosak said.
KDOT workers hope they can finish the work today after working most of the day there Monday. They discovered they needed glue, which would not be available until today, for the white stop bars that would mark stopping points on U.S. 59, Bosak said, and they were also crossing their fingers that a crew could complete the northbound rumble strips by Monday evening.
Area residents and drivers gave mixed reactions to the four-way stop plan at the dangerous intersection, where Pohl and two others have died in accidents this year.
Marvin Jardon has lived in a home along U.S. 59 near the junction since 1957. He said this year seems to be one of the worst for accidents. He would rather see a traffic light at the junction than the four-way stop.
Video
Randy Schimmel, KDOT crew supervisor, discusses the installation of new safety measures at Baldwin Junction. Enlarge video
"I think it's going to be an awful mess (deciding) who's got the right-of-way," Jardon said. "Others have said it's going to take a while before drivers from the east or west (on U.S. Highway 56) trust anybody (to stop) from the north or south."
Some are worried that the drivers accustomed to not stopping will miss the new sign.
"I think they need to put a traffic light in. It's just too much traffic. No one will see the stop sign, and I don't think it'll work," said Jackie Gomez, of Baldwin.
But Bosak said the rumble strips, the warning signs and flashing lights should do enough to alert drivers. Things worked smoothly for the most part Friday afternoon when the signs were first put in place, he said.
The signs were covered later that day, on the advice of KDOT's legal department, because the rumble strips were not in place.
It took KDOT workers three hours Monday morning to install the rumble strips in the southbound lane on U.S. 59, and then the installation began on the northbound lane.
The completion of rumble strips on U.S. Highway 59 at the Baldwin Junction intersection with U.S. Highway 56 is one of the last steps needed to implement a four-way stop.
Lt. John Eichkorn, a Kansas Highway Patrol spokesman, said the final report on Pohl's accident was still being processed, but he said the investigating trooper had determined through witness statements that Pohl had stopped her vehicle at the stop sign on U.S. 56 and then pulled to the west into the lane of traffic on U.S. 59 where she was struck by a northbound semi-trailer, which had the right of way.
KDOT engineers had already studied the junction after an accident in April that killed two Spring Hill teenagers, who were coming from the same direction as Pohl. After that, engineers decided to implement the four-way stop.
Area residents have complained for years about visibility from U.S. 56 and the 55-mph speed limit at the junction.
Lynn Killingsworth, of Baldwin, said the stop signs on U.S. 59 will make her feel safer.
"I had trouble seeing when I was doing my shoulder checks," she said about trying to turn right from U.S. 56. "Oh sure, most definitely they need to do something different there."
More about the intersection
- 6News video: Dangerous intersection finally getting stop signs
- Stop signs at junction delayed (08-05-06)
- 6News video: Baldwin Junction solution faces delays
- Baldwin Junction death prompts call for safer highways (08-03-06)
- 6News video:Improvements to intersection will arrive too late for Baldwin woman
- Wreck latest sign of junction dangers (08-02-06)
- 6News video: Woman injured in Baldwin Junction collision (08-01-06)
- Four-way stop coming to Baldwin Junction (07-12-06)
- Signs create hazard at intersection, motorist says (6-6-06)
- 19-year-old dies from wreck injuries (05-11-06)
- Second victim dies from injuries in Baldwin Junction accident (05-10-06)
Comments
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trinity (anonymous) says…
*sigh*
my heart is just totally with the people and families who have met their deaths at that intersection; *but*-i just don't think the 4-way stop is the remedy, there. implementing such a change, when likely driver error caused those wrecks-agh. look at the volume of traffic, there! just how many vehicles have gone through there without incident? i'd guess quite a darn few.
and yes i've used that intersection from every which way, many many times. i really still am not "getting" the visibility issue.
now what scares the bejeepers out of me-i will be vigilant, looking in my mirror in the event someone comes barreling over the hill&commences to accordian me between the vehicles in front of me, stopped at the stop sign.
this just is not the way to go, peeps.
prioress (anonymous) says…
I agree; a real stop light would be better, IMHO.
mztrendy (anonymous) says…
i guess I don't understand how rumble strips won't alert people that there is a stop ahead. I mean, it should catch a drivers attention.
trinity (anonymous) says…
sure they will, mztrendy...and maybe i'm just being a chicken little, but i can see somebody-maybe a semi driver, maybe just a lil' ol' lady-barreling over the hill heading either west or north, not realizing there's been a change, and not being able to get stopped in time. and the speed and momentum would have been amped up way before hitting the rumble strips.
*sigh* i don't know, just seems there'd be a better way. but i sure am not brilliant enough to conjure one up! :-/
blue73harley (anonymous) says…
mz- I don't know how far back the rumble strips are located but I think it may be a possiblity that North-South traffic could back up farther than the rumblestrips. Like Trinity, I will be watching my rearview mirrors intently.
mztrendy (anonymous) says…
I just wondered because in the town I'm from the have these rumble strips set up and they still scare me every time I go over them. They definiately seem to grab my attention. Thanks for the info though!
Shardwurm (anonymous) says…
A necessary evil but there's so much traffic on 59 that there will almost always be a lengthy line dribbling north and south of that intersection.
bd (anonymous) says…
I hope it works!
I have been driving from Overbrook for over 18 years!
I too am concerned about the backups at the stop signs!
I am just worried about the semi's that come speeding over the hill and come ubruptly upon a long line of traffic at the stop sign!
I think I will take the back roads back to Overbrook in the evenings for a while!
trinity (anonymous) says…
my thoughts exactly, bd.
case in point; heading to o'brook saturday, late afternoon/early evening. the covered stop signs caused enough chaos&confusion to indicate to me that there are far too many inept drivers out there, who probably won't "get" the 4-way when it's open.
YourItalianPrincess (anonymous) says…
Its about darn time..............geez
adky (anonymous) says…
Roundabout!
Confrontation (anonymous) says…
Imagine the nightmare during the Maple Leaf Festival weekend! I was headed to Ottawa last year and could have been in a serious accident if the police weren't flagging people to slow down. I came over a hill on 59 and found a 2-mile-long line of cars waiting to turn towards Baldwin on 56. I bet the line will be a whole lot longer this year! So, mark your calendars for October 20-22, and avoid this area.
blue73harley (anonymous) says…
Regarding roundabout, overpass, traffic lights...ain't gonna happen because that type of money will not be spent on what is being regarded as a "temporary" fix. The new-and-improved 59 is KDOT's permanent solution even though it is years away.
AnglNSpurs (anonymous) says…
Rumble Strips, and a 4 way stop are great. But part of me believes that in the beginning we will see more accidents as people who dont drive that intersection everyday wont know there is a 4way stop and will barrell throught the intersection. What will happen when the 59 expansion goes through... is there going to still be a 4way stop. I think the best idea is an interchange when that happens, but who knows. Definately not a roundabout those are more of a problem then a help. They are too difficult for not only Big trucks, but Emergency vehicles to go through with out checking the curb
jimincountry (anonymous) says…
Everybody's a traffic engineer, it seems!?
sammie914 (anonymous) says…
Hopefully they will also install warning signs about the new stop signs long before we get to the rumble strips. Like an earlier comment - me, I'll be taking the back roads for quite some time to come. Like maybe, until the new road is put in.........
billybeanbag (anonymous) says…
I'm not a traffic engineer, but that's darn fine china!
grumpytree (anonymous) says…
I use this intersection all of the time. I am afraid I agree with others that a stop sign is not the solution. Nobody will see it, and I now fear getting rear-ended. The drivers on 59 are not very good drivers.
I I often have people pull out in front of me from the intersection or their driveway, and I must slam on my brakes to avoid rear-ending them. I look in the rear-view mirror and nobody is behind me. Apparently, they just HAD to get in front of me.
I do see police patrolling these roads, and I am grateful for that. However, I would love to see the police pull over drivers for dangerous driving, and not just speeding. Dangerous driving which includes pulling out in front of traffic, passing on the shoulder, tailgating, and passing on the right-hand side through a busy intersection.
mitzi (anonymous) says…
As the mother of one of the girls who died as a result of the April 29th accident, I am glad KDOT is looking at ways to make the intersection safer. I personally think a 4 way stop would be dangerous. I myself do not know the answer. I don't blame the drivers, but I do feel the accidents are the result of driver error. I have almost pulled out in front of someone. It can happen to any of us. It was an accident, plain and simple. There is no blame, it just happened.
We all just need to be careful when driving a car.
aprilgirl (anonymous) says…
I have driven through the junction several times in the past few days. It was amazingly calm and quiet. No one was rushing and there was actually a feel of politeness!