Town leaders in Wolcott are hoping they’ve found a solution for a treacherous section of a local road.
“Since they changed the corner, it’s been terrible,” said Vicki Bengston of Wolcott. “I would say there’s an accident here probably every night."
Bengston is referring to a sharp curve outside her home on Woodtick Road. She said it’s a regular occurrence for her family to hear cars crashing into the guardrail.
Wolcott police said the area is among the most dangerous stretches of road in town. This week, they installed what they hope is a fix – lighted arrow signs. The chief hopes those signs will alert speeding, distracted drivers to slow down.
“You have the arrows in the daytime. They light up at nighttime,” Wolcott Police Chief Edwards Stephens said. “If people obey the laws, if they’re not texting, if they’re looking where they’re going, if they’re paying attention to the signs they wouldn’t be crashing,” he said.
The University of Connecticut Crash Data Repository shows 25 reported crashes in the spot since 2016. Residents say a state road project a few years ago charged the traffic pattern to what is now to blame for all the danger. Stephens said it’s unlikely that the project will ever be reversed, so the signage is the best they can do for now.
“People have to learn, not just on Woodtick Road on every road slow down, pay attention, drive the speed limit put the phones down,” Stephens said.
Local
Stephens said the town also has plans to install another overhead light to better illuminate the road.
