There have been a number of serious accidents at the intersection of Highway 26 and County Rd. N north of Milton.
MILTON TOWNSHIP — Danger! Danger! Danger!
Public safety officials have tried just about everything to warn people that they are approaching one of the county's most dangerous intersections at Highway 26 and County N.
Rumble strips, flashing lights above the stop signs and extra warning signs all are part of the landscape.
But despite the efforts, nasty accidents continue to happen.
Most recently, four teens were injured—two seriously—in an accident Oct. 30.
Tiffany Duffy, 17, Madison, was stopped at the sign heading eastbound on County N just before 6 p.m., said Cmdr. Troy Knutson with the Rock County Sheriff's Office. Duffy's sport utility vehicle was broadsided when she pulled out in front of a northbound semitrailer truck, Knutson said.
Sharon Storlie, who has been a bartender at the Owl's Club, 5847 E County N, for 28 years, saw the accident.
"I was sitting there, and I couldn't believe my eyes," Storlie said. "I don't know what they were thinking. They pulled out right in front of that semi."
Crunching the numbers
Ask Rock County sheriff's officers about the intersection, and they'll tell you it's a bad one.
Just how bad?
From Jan. 1, 2002, to Oct. 31, 2008, there were 43 accidents with 48 injuries and one fatality.
Highway 26/County N has more than twice as many accidents and more than four times as many injuries as similar intersections.
Similar intersections include those with a state highway and county road and stop signs but no other traffic controls.
The closest contenders are Highway 14/County H and Highway 11/County H. Both have 14 accidents, and 14/H has nine injuries and one fatality, while 11/H has 10.
Even Knutson was surprised by the numbers. Given the amount of traffic on Highway 14, he expected the numbers to be much higher.
The closest contender for injuries is Highway 81/County H, with five accidents and 11 injuries.
Pondering the possibilities
Lt. Gary Groelle of the sheriff's office serves on the county's highway traffic safety committee.
The group—which includes engineers and representatives from the state Department of Transportation, local law enforcement and the highway department—reviews all fatal accidents in the county.
"We look at everything," Groelle said. "Is there enough lighting? Was the person driving into the sun? Was there low visibility?"
After analyzing the possibilities, the group considers what changes could be made.
But at 26 and N, the accidents continue to happen—even with rumble strips, flashing lights and extra signs.
"I like to think that we've done all we can," Groelle said of the changes.
Groelle and Knutson speculated that maybe drivers don't realize how fast vehicles from Highway 26 south are coming down the hill toward the intersection.
But both officers think there might be a simpler explanation.
"I don't think driver awareness, driver attention is what it needs to be," Groelle said.
Knutson has a similar theory. County N is a "fairly high traffic road" with people traveling to and from Whitewater and Interstate 90/39. In the summer, vacationers from Newville travel over to visit the supper clubs and nightspots in the area.
"People wait and wait at the intersection, and then they take chances," Knutson said.
Storlie couldn't agree more.
"If you want my honest opinion, it's inattentive driving," Storlie said. "I think people are just in a big hurry."
When Storlie needs to travel south to Janesville from the Owl's Club, she goes north on County NN up to Highway 26. It's easier to make a left turn there.
A new Highway 26
If everything goes as planned, Highway 26 between Milton and Watertown will be upgraded and improved starting in 2012, said Mark Vesperman, project manager for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's southwest region.
Locally, the project is usually referred to as the "Highway 26 bypass" and hasn't been universally embraced. The plan is to construct a new four-lane highway that would go around Milton. The proposed road would run about a mile to the east of the current Highway 26. An interchange with on and off ramps would be built at the intersection of the new Highway 26 and County N.
The DOT based its decision to expand the road on usage numbers.
"There's a lot of traffic on that road, a lot of trucks," Vesperman said. "It's a traffic and safety thing."