Days after a Jackson teenager was killed in a motor vehicle crash in an intersection at the border of Jackson and Plumsted, officials announced changes aimed at improving safety at the location.
On Feb. 28, officials from Plumsted and Jackson said the Ocean County Road and Engineering Department will soon begin implementing changes at the intersection of Hawkin Road and Route 528.
“I think anything the county is doing to rectify that corner is a positive,” Plumsted Mayor Jack Trotta said. “They are doing something to try to make this corner safer — which is what a lot of people have been asking for, for a lot of years.”
Since Hawkin Road and Route 528 are owned and maintained by the county, neither municipality may make changes to the intersection.
However, Trotta said he and other local elected officials, including Jackson Mayor Michael Reina, the Jackson Township Council, the Plumsted Township Committee and state Assemblyman Ronald Dancer have repeatedly called upon the county to address the number of accidents that have occurred at the intersection.
Officials said the intersection will become a four-way stop. Roadside electronic displays will advise drivers of the pending change.
Drivers on Hawkin Road currently see a blinking red light and are required to stop at stop signs. Drivers on Route 528 currently see a blinking yellow light that signals them to proceed with caution but does not require them to stop.
Following the implementation of the four-way stop, the Ocean County Engineering Department will conduct a study at the intersection to determine if there are any sight obstructions, such as utility poles, that may have been a factor in accidents at the location.
Residents who live near the intersection have asserted that an abandoned farmhouse on one corner of the intersection creates a blind spot for motorists.
Although the structure was initially believed to have been preserved by the state, Trotta said it was privately owned and not a historical site.
Officials said the county will conduct a study to determine whether traffic patterns at the intersection warrant the construction of a full traffic signal. In the past, similar studies determined the standards for a full traffic signal had not been met.
Trotta said county representatives will examine the potential construction of a turnabout at the intersection. Officials said building a turnabout, which is a smaller version of a traffic circle, could require the acquisition of land.
Trotta said similar traffic infrastructure was installed at an intersection in Chesterfield Township, Burlington County, after an accident involving a school bus in which one student died.
“[Turnabouts] slow people down,” he said. “They are effective.”