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County hires traffic engineer to study intersection

| 23 Jul 2015 | 10:32
    The four-way intersection at County Route 41, County Route 1A and Blooms Corners Road where three Goshen High School students died after being struck by a truck last week. Photo by Robert Breese
    The four-way intersection at County Route 41, County Route 1A and Blooms Corners Road where three Goshen High School students died after being struck by a truck last week. Photo by Robert Breese
    Photos by Robert G. Breese Temporary signs with orange flags have been posted along County Rt. 1 for east and westbound traffic as they approach the intersection with Union Corners and Blooms Corners Roads in Warwick on Friday afternoon July 17, just days after three Goshen teenagers were killed at the intersection. 
    Photos by Robert G. Breese Temporary signs with orange flags have been posted along County Rt. 1 for east and westbound traffic as they approach the intersection with Union Corners and Blooms Corners Roads in Warwick on Friday afternoon July 17, just days after three Goshen teenagers were killed at the intersection. 
    A memorial sign was placed near the site of the crash, listing the names of the three Goshen High School students who were killed.
    A memorial sign was placed near the site of the crash, listing the names of the three Goshen High School students who were killed.

By Nathan Mayberg
WARWICK — Three days after a horrific crash in Warwick took the lives of three Goshen High School students, Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus announced that the county has hired a traffic safety engineering firm to study the intersection which has been the scene of many crashes over the years.

Neuhaus said the county’s department of public works is also placing additional signage in the area.

The busy four-way intersection at County Route 1/1A, Union Corners Road and Blooms Corners Road has been the site of many accidents and at least a handful of fatal ones over the past three decades, according to Warwick Police Lt. Thomas Maslanka.

Town residents, including Supervisor Michael Sweeton, have asked for a full stop light at the intersection in requests to the prior county administration.

Currently, there are flashing lights at the intersection as traffic descends at the bottom of a sloping hill on one end and a series of winding hills at the other.

The speed limit is posted as 45 miles per hour on County Route 1A but that speed is regularly exceeded by vehicles passing through.

On Tuesday, July 14, a tractor trailer slammed into a drivers education school sedan occupied by four teenagers and a driving school instructor, injuring all involved.

The intersection is in the Warwick hamlet of Edenville, near Pine Island.

The students were taking part in Goshen High School’s summer driver education course.

In a statement sent out last Friday by Justin Rodriguez, spokesman for Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, Neuhaus said “The county is examining short and long-term options to make any needed improvements at the intersection. Public safety is of the utmost importance to the county and the Town of Warwick.”

According to the statement, Neuhaus met with Sweeton, Warwick Police Chief Thomas McGovern and Maslanka on Friday to discuss improvements to the intersection.

They are considering a reduction in the speed limit, adding additional signs and modifying the current traffic light.

“We had a great meeting,” Sweeton said in the statement. “I was very pleased with the fact that the County is moving forward quickly to improve safety at the intersection. We look forward to working with the County on those improvements.”

There will also be efforts to increase patrols in the area by Town of Warwick police and the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Do you think any changes should be made? Go to warwickadvertiser.com.