Over a three-year period, nearly 200 crashes were reported in a less than two-mile stretch of U.S. 31 in Franklin.
And that area has remained near the top of the list of the county’s most dangerous intersections for years.
Johnson County had 3,830 traffic collisions in 2016, with six fatalities.
Two intersections with U.S. 31, at Schoolhouse Road and Westview Drive, were the top two most dangerous intersections in 2016 based on the number of crashes, with 15 collisions at Schoolhouse Road and 14 at Westview Drive, according to the Indiana University Public Policy Institute. Not far behind: the intersection of U.S. 31 and Earlywood Drive, with 13 crashes, according to the state.
Between 2014 and 2016, those three intersections were the site of 188 accidents. The Indiana Department of Transportation has been studying those three intersections on U.S. 31 for three years to come up with improvements for congestion issues and to reduce the number of accidents, spokesman Harry Maginity said.
Most collisions are typically rear-end crashes caused by speeding or distracted driving, or side impact crashes caused by drivers failing to stop for a stoplight, Franklin City Engineer Mark Richards said.
Employees at businesses in that area along U.S. 31 say they hear or see accidents almost every week.
“I think it’s because of the way they laid out the lights. By the time rush hour comes they get backed up,” said Nick Wheeler, who works at Used Car Factory on Schoolhouse Road and U.S. 31.
The stoplights at Schoolhouse Road and Westview Drive on U.S. 31 are about 500 feet apart, and around 30,000 vehicles travel through that area each day, Richards said.
Danielle Roman, an employee at Domino’s in Franklin, said the traffic lights are not always green at the same time and people don’t pay attention when they change.
“It’s kind of a pain in the neck in the afternoon. It seems like the lights aren’t very in sync,” Roman said. “That intersection just gets completely clogged because this light is red when this one is green.”
Almost two miles north, Jennifer Bower, a Casey’s General Store employee, said vehicles run red lights all the time at the intersection of U.S. 31 and Earlywood Drive.
“People think they can make it. Sometimes the people going this way down Earlywood, they don’t want to wait, so they run it,” Bower said.
Accidents or near-accidents happen almost every day, but most crashes are minor, Bower said.
“If the person in front of them decides to stop at the yellow light, and they don’t want to, that’s when it happens. The person behind is following too close and smacks them,” she said.
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Here is a look at the most recent data about the number of crashes in Johnson County.
Total collisions in 2016: 3,830
Total fatalities: 6
Speed-related collisions: 253
Alcohol-impaired collisions: 81
Top intersections by total collision count:
Schoolhouse Road and U.S. 31, Franklin: 15
U.S. 31 and Westview Drive, Franklin: 14
County Line Road and Emerson Ave., Greenwood: 14
Earlywood Drive and U.S. 31, Franklin: 13
County Road 144 and State Road 37, Bargersville: 12
U.S. 31 and Worthsville Road, Greenwood: 12
Source: Indiana University Public Policy Institute
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