ELK GROVE, Calif. — New guard rails have been put up in Elk Grove after a number of community members complained to Caltrans and city officials about a dangerous intersection.
It's at the Elk Grove Boulevard off-ramp heading southbound on Interstate 5.
Heading down a rainy I-5, Sandra Poole has been taking the Elk Grove Boulevard exit for nearly 20 years to get to her home in the Stonelake community.
"I can't tell you the number of times that I've come down 5 to get off on Elk Grove Boulevard and people turn really wide and barely miss going over the embankment," Poole said.
Getting off the highway to turn left, there's no stop sign, and up until last Friday, there weren't any guard rails up either, even though it was overlooking a large hill.
"Before, there was nothing there, and it was dark and, if it's foggy and you can't see and there's maybe a six or seven inch reflector there, it's an accident waiting to happen. So I'm just really happy to see the guardrail put up there to improve our safety," Poole said.
At the bottom of the large hill where the guardrails are now placed, mangled fences, a piece of bumper and other debris are still there.
"I've seen accidents. I've seen cars rolled over the embankment, so it's really been something that's obviously been very dangerous," Bobbie Singh-Allen, the mayor of Elk Grove, said.
Singh-Allen said she had a close call here a few years back, having a spin out as she was working to make a turn onto Elk Grove Boulevard. However, it wasn't until she started campaigning for mayor last year, when people asked her to help fix it.
"All it takes is making sure that the right decision makers are made aware of certain things," she said.
Caltrans says accident reports in this area weren't much higher than other similar off-ramps, but, after getting an influx of calls about this area, they decided to take a closer look.
"Initially, there was no plans for this, but, with the phone calls and after making the assessment, traffic safety added it as a change order," Dennis Keaton, a spokesman for Caltrans District 3, said.
It added not only the guardrails but bigger signs reminding drivers to slow down and some new lighting. It was added on to the FixSac5 project expected to finish up next summer.
"If it saves one life, then it's well worth it," Poole said.
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