Bunnell, FL - Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly will speak at a Florida Department of Transportation public hearing on Thursday night about ways to improve a deadly intersection in Bunnell.
Staly asked FDOT for changes at the intersection of US Highway 1 and Old Dixie Highway in February and again in November of 2017. Staly wrote letters to the Secretary of FDOT asking for a traffic light, additional signage regarding the dangerous intersection, lowering the speed limit, and additional ways to improve the deadly intersection. To read Staly's letters, click here.
The original response from FDOT said that a roundabout would be constructed beginning in 2021. After Staly sent his second letter in November, he got a response from FDOT in December saying the roundabout project would begin in the summer of 2018, moving the project forward by nearly three years. For FDOT, a roundabout is still the solution, in addition to increased signage and a blinking light above the stop sign on Old Dixie Highway to increase the visibility of the intersection.
During Thursday night's public hearing, FDOT officials will discuss the roundabout design and Sherif Staly will address the proposed solutions and changes that have already been made. The event, which is open to the public, will be held at the Community Baptist Church at 956 S. Old Dixie Highway in Bunnell at 5:30 PM.
“I am pleased that the project will begin this year rather than three years from now,” Sheriff Staly said. “I feel that FDOT is taking this project seriously and beginning to understand the dangerous hazards this intersection presents.”
At least six people were killed in 2017 at the intersection in question. In February, five people lost their lives in a three-vehicle wreck and a motorcyclist lost his life in November when he collided with a semi-truck.
Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2018.
