The city is adding traffic signals to an accident-prone downtown intersection.
The signals at the intersection of Eighth and Cherry and Marshall streets will be turned on next month, after turn-lane changes and other pavement-marking work is done, said Connie Curtis, the deputy director of the Winston-Salem Department of Transportation.
The signals will replace stop signs on Eighth Street. Officials hope that they will cut down on the number of serious right-angle or "T-Bone" type wrecks on the southbound Cherry Street side of the intersection. The wrecks occurred in large part because a hill obscures approaching drivers' view of the intersection.
"People just couldn't see over the hill," Curtis said. "We were racking up more and more accidents there."
A city traffic study from 2002 to 2006 showed 51 wrecks at the intersection, nearly 13 a year.
About 93 percent of the wrecks were right-angle collisions, and about 30 percent involved injuries, Curtis said.
To ensure that southbound drivers know that the new lights are there, crews placed two extra signal heads on Cherry Street heading toward Eighth Street.
Curtis said that once all the lights are turned on, they will be left in a flashing caution or stop mode for about a week so that drivers can get used to them. After that, they will be tuned to a regular stop or go pattern.
Adding the signals costs about $50,000. Most of that money, about $40,000, is coming from the N.C. Department of Transportation, and the city will pay the rest.
Pat Ivey, an N.C. DOT engineer, said that adding the new traffic lights -- especially the advance signals in the southbound lanes -- is expected to help make the intersection safer.
"We do that often in places with visibility problems, and it works well," Ivey said. "If you don't add the extra signal, and the light turns red, drivers can't see in time to stop."
■ Jim Sparks can be reached at 727-7301 or at jsparks@wsjournal.com.
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