The Sandhills Metropolitan Planning Organization (SMPO) met with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to review safety at the intersection of Pee Dee Road and U.S. Highway 15-501 at its Jan. 15 meeting.
NCDOT Assistant Division Maintenance Engineer Matthew Kitchen shared data on five vehicular accidents in the last 10 years at the intersection of Pee Dee Road and U.S. Highway 15-501, near Burney Hardware, in Aberdeen. Three of the accidents resulted in deaths.
A discussion on speed and allowing semitrucks on Pee Dee Road arose because, in one of the accidents at this intersection, someone on U.S. Highway 15-501 drove under a log truck, and there were no skid marks.
The board asked if Global Positioning System (GPS) could redirect or restrict semitrucks on Pee Dee Road.
“NCDOT does have policies in place that allow for the restriction of trucks along certain routes if there is a structural deficiency with the roadway, culvert or bridge as an example, or if there is an identified safety issue along the route,” Kitchen wrote in an email to Sandhills Sentinel about the GPS redirecting idea being a viable solution. “Based on the analysis done to date there is no identified safety issue at the intersection of Pee Dee and US 15/501, nor are we aware of any significant concerns along Pee Dee Road. There are avenues for coordinating routing issues through the GPS industry if it is determined to be necessary as a result of prohibitive restrictions in place for a roadway segment. However, to arbitrarily reroute traffic from an NCDOT route without cause nor an in-depth investigation is not recommended. To this date there has been no additional investigation into a rerouting scenario.”
Failure to look for oncoming traffic when turning from Pee Dee Road resulted in one accident at the intersection.
Two drivers ran the stop sign on Pee Dee Road, and one on U.S. Highway 15-501 rear-ended a truck at the intersection.
Kitchen said the Pee Dee Road’s stop sign’s advance warning met sight distance requirements.
The SMPO board asked what number of accidents or fatalities NCDOT requires to install lights at the intersection.
Kitchen said there was no magic number to trigger light installation, and it was a last resort.
“Pee Dee’s five accidents are minimal compared to others in the state,” Kitchen said in relation to the field review on this intersection.
Village of Pinehurst Mayor Patrick Pizzella asked about traffic violations being included in NCDOT’s data for the field review.
“We don’t take it into account. We don’t have the manpower to dig through the data,” Kitchen said.
Pizzella said he received regular traffic violation reports, and so did other municipalities, and the data was available.
Driver errors, including newer smooth cars’ facilitating excess speed through lack of sensation in acceleration, cellphone use, distracting children, teenagers, older people, and eating while driving, are not characteristics NCDOT can control.
In new business, the SMPO purchased professional liability insurance for $871. The private group insurance covers property and automobile accidents.
The board discussed the N.C. Division of Air Quality’s Volkswagen settlement grant for electric vehicle charging stations with a Jan. 31 deadline for applications and how to charge EV station users.
“The funds cover 100% of the cost on public property and 80% on private property, but it appears chargers must be available to the general public,” SMPO’s additional agenda details reads about applying for the grant.
A free bicycle helmet initiative from NCDOT garnered interest with a brief discussion.
“Applicants are encouraged to partner with groups in the community to extend the outreach of bicycle safety awareness. Examples of partners include police/fire departments, parks and recreation departments, health departments, community centers, churches and non-governmental groups,” the NCDOT bicycle helmet initiative reads.
Learn more about bicycle helmets for children from low-income families here.
The next SMPO meeting is Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. at 395 Magnolia Road in Pinehurst.
Feature photo: Moore County Sheriff’s Department closes a portion of Pee Dee Road while first responders work the scene of a fatal wreck on Highway 15-501 in Aberdeen on Dec. 17, 2024. Photo Abegail Murphy/Sandhills Sentinel.
~Written by Sandhills Sentinel journalist Stephanie M. Sellers. Stephanie is also an English instructor at Central Carolina Community College. She is the author of young adult fiction, including When the Yellow Slugs Sing and Sky’s River Stone, and a suspense, GUTTERSNIPE: Shakespearean English Stage Play with Translation.
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