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This is a photo of the intersection before the RCUT is in place. More photos below the article.
BARNESVILLE - The Georgia Department of Transportation has scheduled an intersection improvement on SR 7 and Grove Street. Weather permitting; work will be performed daily, 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. through Tuesday, July 26. A concrete island will be constructed in the median in order to channelize left turns from SR 7 and restrict crossing maneuvers from the side streets. The inside lanes of SR 7 north and southbound will be closed near its intersection with Grove Street while work is performed.
The Restricted Crossing U-turn (RCUT) is an innovative intersection design that improves safety and operations by changing how minor road traffic crosses or turns left at a major road. The RCUT does not change any of the movements that are possible from the major road.
At an RCUT, drivers stopped at Grove Street waiting to cross or turn left no longer must navigate the complex intersection of two directions of traffic traveling at high speed. Instead, all minor road traffic makes a right turn followed by a U-turn at a designated location to continue in the desired direction.
The RCUT design reduces the total number and overall severity of vehicle-to-vehicle conflict points when compared to a conventional four-leg intersection and after analysis found intersection crashes were reduced by 49 percent.
For more information about Georgia DOT, visit www.dot.ga.gov. You may follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/GeorgiaDOT) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/gadeptoftrans).
By Editor Becky Watts
BARNESVILLE - Change is coming for those who go across or make turns at Grove Street in Barnesville. Tyler Peek, District Traffic Engineer for District 3 for the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), talked with Pike County Times about the change that is coming and why there is a need for it.
This intersection consists of a divided four lane highway with a blinking caution light to warn drivers of the danger of the intersection. Right now, there is the possibility to drive straight across from one side of Grove Street to the other. However, a restrictive crossing U-turn (R-CUT) will soon be constructed in the center of the Grove Street turn in Lamar County.
This means that there will be no more crossing from one side of Grove Street to the other or crossing the center and taking a turn right or left on Highway 341. This concrete island will force side streets to take a right and go down to the nearest turn lane in order to make a turn toward Griffin or Barnesville depending on which way you are traveling.
Engineer Peek said that the reason for this change is the high number of collisions there at Grove Street with high injury rate because of the type of crashes that are common there. GDOT conducted a study of the crash history for this intersection from 2012 to 2014. “These are usually the most severe collisions,” he said. And he advised that these collisions usually have a higher injury rate than other collisions as well.
During the time of this study, there were 23 angle collisions during this time (where cars were T-boned). 19 of those accidents involved drivers leaving Grove Street that were hit by vehicles going north or south on Highway 341.
There were an additional seven accidents at this intersection in 2015. Six involved vehicles that were going straight across at this intersection or making a right or left onto Highway 341. By removing the crossing at this intersection, the R-CUT will break up the turning process into a two step process. “Crash reduction nationwide has proven to be effective when R-CUTs are installed,” said Peek.
Peek advised that GDOT looked at all of the options available for this intersection including a traffic signal and a roundabout. He said that the amount of traffic is low from Grove Street but not close to the volume needed for a traffic light. He continued by saying that signals don’t reduce like a round about or an R-CUT with crash reductions.
He said that volume of traffic is also considered for a roundabout, but that was not the practical solution for this intersection. Roundabouts are normally work best if the amount of traffic is twice or three times what is there at this time and when side streets and the main road are closer together.
The cost and amount of time needed to install the different aspects were considered too. An R-CUT is fairly easy to install, will inconvenience drivers for a shorter period of time during construction, and costs a lot less than the other options that are available for this intersection. Residents can get an idea of a what an R-CUT looks like at Lucky Street and Highway 19 in Griffin (by the Waffle House near Tractor Supply) and by looking at the article on the Henry County R-CUT located at intersection of Highway 20 and Simpson Mill Road. Click here to read about it and enlarge the picture to see the concrete centerpiece that will go in the road to direct traffic.
Lamar County business leaders and government officials have already been notified that a change is coming. Keep an eye out for concrete and signage in the middle of the Grove Street in late spring or early summer.
How did Pike County Times get this story? A short article appeared in the Lamar County print paper, and I got a call about it from a concerned citizen who lives on Grove Street. I did some digging and decided to do a story on this so people could know a little more of what to expect.
