Eastern Boulevard intersection at issue again in Clarksville

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April 2, 2009

Jury rules in favor of state in trial that questioned design

By DAVID A. MANN The News and Tribune Thu Apr 02, 2009, 01:32 PM EDT

It was almost four years ago that Stacey Sigler was heading home to Henryville from a country concert in Louisville.

Heading northbound, she pulled up to the light at the intersection of U.S. 31 — the access road beside Interstate 65 — and Eastern Boulevard about 11 p.m. She waited until the light turned green, hit the gas and then a moment later was hit by another motorist who had run a red light while traveling the boulevard.

The Indiana Department of Transportation — through its attorney — maintains that the accident was the fault of the driver who’d run the light. Sigler, however, believed that the concrete barriers along the roadway that blocked her line of sight were truly the problem.

Both arguments were presented to a Clark County jury last week. The jury ruled in favor of the state in the matter.

The intersection was redesigned as a part of the $34 million Revive 65 project that wrapped up in 2005. Since it opened, the number of accidents there has been an issue.

At the time of Sigler’s accident, INDOT was still tinkering with the intersection, but it was under no definition a construction area, said Matt Schad, a New Albany attorney who represented Sigler in last week’s case. He said his client was not willing to talk to the media regarding the matter.

Part of the problem was that concrete barriers lining the road side create blind spots, he said. Additionally, the timing of the traffic signal needed to be adjusted to give motorists more time to make it through the intersection.

“Because one driver has no view of the guy running the light, you get high-speed collisions,” Schad said. “INDOT was aware that there were accidents.”

The Evening News reported on a 300 percent-increase in the number of accidents about a year after the intersection was reopened.

“I drive through that intersection, and I saw a pronounced increase in car parts there on a regular basis,” said John Gilkey, a former Evening News reporter who authored the story.

He got numbers from the Clark County Sheriff’s office, which showed there were 14 accidents at the intersection in 2003 and 42 accidents there in 2004.

Terry Summer, an INDOT traffic investigations engineer, told Gilkey that barrier walls were designed there to ensure that a vehicle cannot leave the roadway. However, he admitted to Gilkey, “The wall does create some sight-line problems.”

Gilkey took the stand during the trial to confirm that he’d done the story and the people he interviewed.

“I don’t think they ever questioned the story,” Gilkey said.

INDOT’s attorney, Paul Mullins, maintains that the story mischaracterized which kind of walls Summer was referencing in the story.

Regardless, Mullins said that the jury made the right decision.

He said the department was vigilant throughout the process, updating the lights and the intersection through the years.

“Any intersection is dangerous when people run red lights,” he said.

The state is not responsible when motorists break the law, he said.

Accidents at the intersection have decreased since the spike in 2005.

“From what I’m hearing, it’s not that much of a problem anymore,” said Sgt. Jerry Goodin, who has talked about the issue with troopers at the Indiana State Police Sellersburg post.

A slight adjustment was made to the timing of traffic lights on the overpass.

Creating a delay between when one side turned green and the other turns red seems to solve the problem, he said.

In 2006, there were 25 accidents — 17 fewer than the year Sigler’s accident took place. Last year, there were only 10 at the intersection, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Department.

Despite the decline, some local officials still question the design of the intersection.

“It really wasn’t engineered real well,” Sheriff Danny Rodden said.

He said the intersection is likely one of the worst accident spots that his department covers.

Clarksville Assistant Police Chief David Ross said the number of car parts still lying around in the area is evident that it’s still a problem.

The state has said that it’s not the design, it’s the driver, Ross said.

“But if I cannot see the traffic, there’s a problem.”

U.S. 31/Eastern Blvd. accidents

• 2003 — 14

• 2004 — 42

• 2006 — 25

• 2008 — 10

— Clark County Sheriff’s Department