A roundabout is expected to reduce accidents and relieve traffic congestion at a busy intersection west of Franklin.
The Indiana Department of Transportation agreed to construct a roundabout at Centerline Road and State Road 144 after years of pleas from local officials.
The route is a popular way to get to Franklin Community High School, Johnson Memorial Hospital and county buildings from the city’s west side.
Centerline Road congestion builds up during rush hour before and after school, because traffic on State Road 144 does not stop. Because of the abrupt stop on Centerline, distracted or speeding drivers regularly cause accidents at the intersection, traffic data shows.
Johnson County Sheriff’s Office accident data shows multiple accidents at the intersection every year. There were seven in 2015, 11 in 2016, 13 in 2017, 21 in 2018, 11 in 2019 and 10 in 2020. In the last six years, 16 accidents resulted in injuries and at least two were hit and runs, according to the data.
The number of accidents in 2018 was higher because traffic was rerouted to the area due to a construction-related closure on County Road 200 North.
In 2018, anticipating the situation would worsen, the Johnson County Highway Department, Johnson County Board of Commissioners and Franklin Community Schools wrote a letter to INDOT asking for a temporary remedy to ease traffic during construction as well as a long-term fix.
“As you may already be aware, this skewed intersection has seen a steady increase in the number of vehicle accidents over the last few years, resulting in more personal injury accidents as well. The accident rate for 2018 so far is on pace to surpass the total accidents in 2017. We are grateful for the actions taken by the Seymour District to date to improve the situation, such as additional warning and regulatory signage and pavement markings, but the accident rates continue to climb, meaning additional measures are needed,” the letter to INDOT reads.
When INDOT first start conversations about the project, there were two sets of warning signs in each direction on State Road 144, and stop signs with plaques that read “traffic from the left and right does not stop” on Centerline Road, according to Natalie Garrett, an INDOT spokesperson.
As a short-term fix, INDOT in 2018 installed two yellow-flashing beacons on State Road 144 on top of the existing crossroads warning signs to help warn drivers of cross traffic ahead. The four beacons cost $20,000, Garrett said.
Later this spring, Dave O’Mara Contractor Inc. will start work on a $2.6 million single-lane roundabout at the intersection. The roundabout is expected to slow traffic and make an easier and safer passage for drivers on both sides, she said.
Utility relocation work is already underway and will continue for the next few months, and tree clearing work is scheduled to begin later this month, Garrett said.
State Road 144 will close fully for about 60 days this summer while the roundabout is constructed. Preparations for the closure will begin in the spring, following the utility work, she said.
The contract completion date for construction of the roundabout is Oct. 31, but environmental mitigation activities such as tree planting to replace those that have to be cut down will continue into 2022, Garrett said.
The roundabout is one solution Franklin schools superintendent David Clendening showed support for in the letter requesting INDOT action.
Sheriff Duane Burgess said the roundabout should be a good solution to traffic congestion and make the intersection safer. The signals appear to have helped somewhat, but if a driver is distracted or going too fast, the signals don’t do much, he said.
“That’s normally how I come to work and there are some days that you just cringe,” Burgess said. “There’s a lot of traffic in Johnson County right now, especially right there. I’m glad they are doing something.”
