CITRUS HEIGHTS, Calif — There were three crashes in less than 48 hours at the intersection of Old Auburn Road and Fair Oaks Boulevard in Citrus Heights over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Jesse Durham, who lives right next to the intersection, said that is nothing new.
"It's one of those things where we’ve lived there for three years now, [and] I believe there’s been like 10 or 11 accidents," Durham explained. "I mean, there were three accidents that I’m directly aware of in the days around Thanksgiving this year that completely obliterated almost all of the barriers."
The longest stretch of the barrier sits adjacent to Durham's backyard, which makes him constantly worried what could happen if things stay the way they are.
Durham added that crashes at that intersection is something that is always on his mind. "Always in the back of your head like, 'OK, is the next one going to jump the fence?'" Durham said. "My bedroom is 10 feet from the back fence. Is the next one going to go through the fence and go into our bedroom?"
Durham said one of the problems could be that it's not a perfect T-intersection and drivers don’t turn a perfect 90 degrees.
Leslie Blomquist, the principal civil engineer for the city of Citrus Heights, explained to ABC10 some of the changes to the intersection. In the past, drivers have been able to turn left from the right lane of Fair Oaks Boulevard onto Old Auburn.
However, this is how most of the crashes happen. So, for now, the city has prohibited left turns from the right land and they’re working to solve the problem.
"You can see the old pavement where we grinded it out, and we moved everything closer to where we’re standing right now to allow a little bit more ease of a turn for that Fair Oaks movement," Blomquist explained, pointing to new lanes of traffic. "Where that white car is now is where the bike lane used to be."
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Blomquist said the city installed barriers about 10 years ago to slow down cars driving out of control. Blomquist said the planters were chosen specifically for the intersection because other options, like guard rails or k-rails, are harder and might cause more injury to drivers.
"This really is the best solution here, and it’s doing its job," Blomquist said. "I think since they’ve gone in, 95% of the collisions have resulted in no injuries."
The city has also attempted to find other solutions — resurfacing the road to increase friction, reducing travel to one lane, as well as other ideas. As for preventing future crashes, the city has been trying new options and they’re inviting the public to give their input at a workshop on Dec. 17 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Holy Family Church.
For Durham and others who live in the area, a fix could not come any sooner.
"I mean, somebody is bound to lose their life on that intersection," Durham said. "It could happen any day. It could happen this winter."
Follow the conversation on Facebook with Mike Duffy.
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