City of Troy plans safety improvements for wreck-riddled road

A stop sign sits at a dangerous corner. Nate Henderson photo

George Wallace Drive at U.S. Highway 231 is one of Troy’s busiest corridors. With businesses, restaurants and high volumes of traffic along the roadway, drivers frequently enter and exit the area throughout the day, and for those trying to leave businesses along the corridor, making a left turn can be a dangerous decision.

Troy University student Sandra Hall experienced that danger firsthand while trying to leave the area.

“I was just going to get some food, and I was turning out of the area, and as I was taking the left turn, there was a big truck in the far-left lane blocking my view,” Hall said. “I thought I had it clear, but when I pulled forward, someone was actually coming my way, and they hit me.”

“[Insurance] did put me at fault just simply because the other car also couldn’t see me, and because they technically had the right of way, but even the cops said that spot is not good, that many wrecks happened there and at this point they should put a no left turn sign.”

Hall’s experience highlights a concern shared by some drivers who regularly travel the area. Blocked sight lines, heavy traffic and multiple access points can make it difficult for drivers to determine when it is safe to enter the roadway.

However, there is debate over how much responsibility falls on drivers and how much should be addressed through changes to the roadway.

“It’s just a matter of common sense of the drivers,” said Troy resident Jim English. “If you can’t see clearly for a little bit of a distance, it’s just not smart to pull out.”

While drivers have called for solutions such as better signage and roadway changes, city officials say improvements to the intersection are already in the works.

The city of Troy is pursuing a roughly $2.5 million grant for a project designed to improve safety and keep traffic moving through the area. The project will use a combination of city, state and federal funding.

Troy Mayor Jason Reeves said there’s no way to stop every traffic accident, but the project will make it so people, however well-intentioned, won’t be able to wave somebody into a dangerous situation.

The planned changes are designed to limit the number of potential conflict points between vehicles entering and exiting the corridor. One way the project looks to do that is by removing the ability to make a left-hand turn into the street, Reeves said.

Plans call for additional right-turn lanes on both sides of the intersection. The project will also create right-in, right-out access at both Corman Avenue and Troy Plaza Loop.

“When this is all done, this will be a wonderful thing,” Reeves said. “People won’t have to wait on the light being long, traffic will flow better and it will be safer.”

The city is working with the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) and Three Notch Partners on the engineering. Officials are planning to tear down the old AT&T building as part of the improvements.

Reeves says the changes will not only be a city effort, but a community effort as well.

“I would just ask for patience when things start,” Reeves said. “Obviously there will be people out there working, and anytime that you do something to improve a situation it always gets worse before it gets better while there’s construction going on.”

The mayor says the goal is to have the project ready to go to bid by the end of the calendar year, with construction following once planning is finalized.

For drivers like Hall, the planned changes could eventually eliminate the left turns that have made the corridor difficult to navigate.

As the city moves forward with the project, officials say the goal is to create a safer intersection while improving traffic flow for the drivers who rely on the busy corridor every day.