Drivers will have a seventh stop on Sashabaw now that the township has approved a new traffic light at the intersection of Flemings Lake and Sashabaw roads.
The estimated price of installing the signal is $150,000. Tri-Party Funds will cover the project with the Corridor Improvement Authority (CIA), Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC), and the County Board of Commissioners contributing $50,000 each.
Plans for the light were designed with the Sashabaw widening project in mind, and it should be installed by the end of the year, said Superintendent Bart Clark.
From Trustee David Lohmeier’s point of view, the traffic light has been ‘long overdue.?
Trustee Larry Rosso agreed.
‘In the end, it is going to save an awful lot of lives,? he said.
‘We’re happy to finally get this project going,? said Clark. ‘It is important to the safety of citizens.?
Since 2009, the Flemings Lake and Sashabaw intersection has been the site of 13 crashes resulting in nine injuries and one death, according to the Traffic Improvement Association (TIA) of Michigan.
Four of the crashes were the result of a failure to yield during a left turn.
Craig Bryson of the RCOC said, each day 20,280 vehicles travel southbound on Sashabaw at Flemings Lake, and 19,690 travel north.
At that rate, for every crash, vehicles traveled that route about 3.37 million times without incident.