WILKINSON COUNTY, Ga. — For the third time this year, there has been a major wreck at a busy Wilkinson County crossing. On Tuesday, July 23 at 8:36 a.m., officials received a call about two semi-trucks collided at the intersection of highways 112 and 441.
This past spring, a fatal crash at the intersection left a 61-year-old man dead.
County officials tell 13WMAZ both trucks caught fire, shortly after the drivers stepped out. No one was hurt.
Georgia Department of Transportation District 2 Communications Director Will Volk said the department is moving forward with plans to make the intersection safer.
"We don't want to see serious crashes like that; we want to do everything we can to prevent those," Volk said.
G-DOT reports there have been four angle crashes there this year. This means one of the drivers failed to yield. They said there are already measures in place to alert drivers on that route.
"We have rumble strips in place on 112, we've got dual stop ahead signs in place, larger signs and then in the intersection itself we have yield signs," Volk said.
Now, they plan to add flashing lights to the stop ahead signs at the intersection. Volk said they are waiting for approval. If approved, it will be a short-term fix before a roundabout is installed.
"It's just another measure to try to increase driver awareness," Volk said.
Volk said the roundabout construction is currently slated for 2025 and they hope it will slow people down. They found it was the best long term for the area, instead of a traffic light.
"It cuts off a lot of potential contact points because if you install a traffic light there you have a high chance of some of those right angle collisions," Volk said.
He said once the roundabout is complete, the stop ahead signs will come down.
"We understand it might take time... but we are working to implement solutions," Volk said.