Big construction changes are coming to a U.S. Highway in Tucker and DeKalb County.
That spot is the interchange on Highway 78 and Mountain Industrial Boulevard, where more than 350 crashes have happened in just five years.
Channel 2’s Steve Gehlbach was in Tucker, where drivers and other members of the community said they’re hopeful the construction work, when complete, will make the intersection safer.
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It’s not just the interchange here, that gets realigned and ramps pushed out, but a total of six intersections from Hwy 78 and a half mile north from there are all getting worked on.
At the interchange, left-hand turns from Mountain Industrial Blvd can be risky, and dangerous, when drivers are turning onto Stone Mountain Freeway.
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“Other cars will try to run through the light, or regular green light, trying to make their light, and...bam!” driver Ty Robinson told Channel 2 Action News.
It’s the most dangerous stretch of road in Tucker, by far.
“A lot of people trying to bully their way into traffic, not let other people out,” driver Marlon Dority said. “Just be a lot of crashes and wrecks right here.”
But plans from the Georgia Department of Transportation show what the new redone and realigned interchange will look like, including six intersections with new concrete medians taking away the center turning lane.
“Yeah, I think that would help a lot,” one driver said.
The project is funded mostly through a partnership with GDOT, though he City of Tucker recently approved the $11 million project.
At the council meeting where it was approved, city leaders said “It’s always been a problem, so we’re going to rectify that.”
Data over the past five years shows that same stretch of road has had 356 crashes, with 121 injuries and one person killed.
The changes to the road will not add any lanes or decrease traffic, and may even cost drivers time to drive a short distance and make a U-turn to cross.
But traffic engineers said the changes could cut the number of accidents down by one-third.
Destiny Johnson, a driver, said that’s fine with her.
“An extra 30 seconds of driving to save someone from being hurt, or something that? It’s worth it,” Johnson told Channel 2 Action News.
Construction of the realigned ramps, reconfigured intersections and new median should start sometime early next spring.
The overall project is expected to take two years to complete.
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