The intersection at County Road 144 and Smokey Row Road pictured Thursday. The county is getting traffic safety study done at this intersection.
Emily Ketterer | Daily Journal
A traffic safety study will be conducted on what county officials say is an accident-prone intersection in White River Township.
The Johnson County Board of Commissioners voted on Monday to spend $17,900 to pay Indianapolis-based Corradino LLC to perform a traffic safety study at the intersection of County Road 144 and Smokey Row Road.
Daniel Johnston, county highway engineer, said the study will be an in-depth analysis collecting data on crash patterns, general traffic patterns and turning habits at that intersection. The contractors will also meet with local law enforcement to discuss the safety of that intersection.
This study will result in a final report with suggestions on improvements the county could make to that intersection. The goal is to use that information for the next Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization callout for projects, Johnston said.
Commissioner Ron West at the meeting questioned if the county highway department could conduct these studies on its own, since they already collect accident data, for example. Johnston listed a few reasons why contracting outside would be best for this case. He said an outside study would be more in-depth and would have a dedicated group to complete it, rather than adding the task to county employees. Whereas, if the highway department conducted its own study, it would take more time and could be less in-depth, he said.
Corradino has also been used in the past by other municipalities and the Indiana Department of Transportation for traffic safety studies, he said.
Improving the County Road 144 and Smokey Row Road intersection is necessary, given the increasing number of accidents there, Commissioner Kevin Walls said. This study is a short-term fix for a long-term fix, he said, especially with Interstate 69 expected to increase traffic in that area.
“For a while, I’ve been dealing with this with Daniel. I mean I’ve taken a lot of calls on how dangerous that intersection is,” Walls said.
West agreed that he’s also fielded a number of emails from residents telling him about how dangerous the intersection is, and he’s not opposed to the study, he said. West said he expects it will become a roundabout in the end anyway.
“If anything, I’d put my money on it that it’s going to be a roundabout,” West said.
