MoDOT shows new vision for deadly intersection in Bolivar

(KY3)
Published: Dec. 7, 2017 at 5:35 PM CST
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A public meeting about Highway 13 and Highway U and Y intersection just south of Bolivar in Polk County was held Thursday.

There have been 74 crashes around that intersection in the past five years including two fatal crashes.

Now the proposed change is a J turn, what that means is if you are on U Highway and want to turn left onto Highway 13 to go towards Bolivar, you will have to turn right and then make a u-turn back towards Bolivar.

These types of intersections are expected to reduce the number of crashes. A University of Missouri study shows that J turns have reduced the number of crashes by almost 35 percent.

There has almost been a 54 percent drop in fatal crashes, cutting down on a certain style of wreck that proves to be very serious.

"We know that these J turns will work. We actually had a study conducted by the University of Missouri that show that these get rid of those types of accidents that we are trying to get rid of. Those right angle or T-bone type crashes," says local engineer, Beth Schaller.

MoDOT has installed several J turns in the state, including one on Highway 13 near Osceola and several along Highway 65 around Fair Grove and Buffalo.