Dangerous Smiths Grove intersection now 4-way stop 

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.-A dangerous intersection in the Smiths Grove area will hopefully be much safer thanks to a few changes that happened on Wednesday.

U.S. 68 Glasgow Road and Ky. 101 Smiths Grove-Scottsville Road will now be a four-way stop. Previously only drivers crossing the intersection on Ky. 101 had to stop.

Signs, rumble strips and a flashing beacon have been installed at the intersection to warn drivers about the change.

“It’s in a rural area, but there’s also a lot of traffic on it which is a unique factor in this intersection. Normally at rural intersections there’s not a whole lot of traffic. However, there is an interchange to I-65 nearby,” said Wes Watt, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 3 spokesman.

The intersection has been the site of several accidents.

“This intersection has had nearly 40 crashes in a three-year span. That’s a lot of crashes. When our engineers started looking into the factors that lead to these crashes, the majority of them were folks on Ky. 101 who had stopped, but then pulled out in front of somebody on U.S. 68 who was going wide open,” Watt. said.

It was just last week when the last car crash happened. Several parties involved were injured and airlifted to area hospitals.

“It was a semi-truck, and it was coming across Highway 101. A vehicle travelling on 68 basically ran into it. The truck did not yield right of way, pulled out in front of another vehicle. A semi takes a little bit of time to get started. The speeds that people travel on there, a lot of times they don’t have as much time to react,” said Warren County Sheriff Brett Hightower.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 3 officials and law enforcement are hoping the additional stop signs will improve traffic and safety in the area.

“We have had some mixed reviews from citizens. Some people feel like this might create an issue. Some feel that it’s going to help with the issue. So, I guess they will begin collecting data to see what if any changes might occur,” Hightower said.

State transportation officials said that it can sometimes take time for people to get used to roadway changes. They hope additional signage and rumble strips will help drivers stay alert.