Charlotte intersection, known for crashes, could see new safety measures
CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A dangerous intersection in East Charlotte could soon get safety improvements. Officials are looking at ways to reduce crashes on The Plaza and Cove Creek Drive.
After a transportation study, NC Department of Transportation officials have determined the rate of crashes at The Plaza and Cove Creek Drive is higher than the state average.
“The one Sunday was the one that I seen with the whole power line down and it looked like it was almost going into a house,” Anaja Barksdale, who lives in East Charlotte, said. “That’s how bad the impact of the car was.”
Barksdale drives down The Plaza near Cove Creek Drive at least once a week and she caught the aftermath of a crash Sunday.
“Perhaps, they do need a red light right there,” Barksdale said. “I feel like that will help stop traffic from either location.”
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The City of Charlotte reached out to the NC Department of Transportation for a solution to the problem. A transportation team that evaluated the crash history of the area decided that traffic lights wouldn’t work in the area. The team has a plan to install concrete medians that would stop left turns from The Plaza onto Cove Creek Drive instead.
“Traffic leaving Cove Creek would be required to make a right-hand movement instead of making the left-hand movement where we see a lot of the crashes, they would have to turn right instead of turning left,” David Uchiyama from NC DOT said.
Charlotte City Council approved a resolution to support the safety project that would be led and funded by NCDOT. But before it’s final, the project would be evaluated on a state level against similar projects across the state to decide which projects the state can fund. The project will cost $536,000.
“If it gets selected there, then the preliminary engineering begins, where the design and the detail down to the fraction of an inch are determined,” Uchiyama said. “It is also during that process that the traffic management plan whether lane closures are necessary or overnight closures are necessary is determined.”
If the project is selected for funding, officials say we will start to get more clarity about the traffic impact while the crews complete the work around the summer months.
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