The Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners unanimously agreed to create a new four-way stop in the county due to safety concerns.
Chairman Jay Paul proposed placement of a four-way stop at Sandy Cross Road and Lexington-Carlton Road during the Nov. 4 meeting after noting dangerous conditions on those specific roads.
“We had a crash about a week ago,” said Paul, who lives in Sandy Cross.
According to the 911 database, there have been 34 wrecks in the past five years near that intersection.
“The reason for your trouble is just drivers not paying attention to what they’re doing,” said Andy Saxon, District 2 commissioner.
That four-way stop will be effective Dec. 1, if signage can be found, but if not, officials hope the stop will be active by Jan. 1, 2025.
The commissioners said they hoped to use flashing stop signs to help control the traffic, and Paul said county officials hope to contract with Mid State Striping to paint stop lines at the intersection.
“We have not had a fatality, thank God,” Paul said.
It was also proposed to create a four-way stop at the intersection of Gwen’s Crossing and Blackthorn Road in Hawk’s Landing subdivision, but that was tabled by the BOC.
In other business, the BOC:
- Tabled an agreement about Oglethorpe County’s contract with MOAS.
- Approved all rezoning requests recommended by the zoning board.
- Approved a repair at the Oglethorpe County Library for the railings at the entrance with an estimated cost of $5,000. Half of the cost will be matched by the Public Library Association. “Thank you, especially for tonight, approving the railing, because every week I talk to people who leave their home county drive over here because they like our library better, they like our community better,” Oglethorpe County Library manager Katherine Ratcliffe said. “I feel like the railing will be the final piece to have them go home and tell everyone what a wonderful, fantastic place they've been to.”