As a follow-up to last week's editorial, the Progress phoned again to Geoff Morton, Cherokee County director of public works, on Thursday, May 14. Morton said he and Cherokee County's assistant engineer examined the south Nelson curve of Old Highway 5 where two motorists have run off of the road and died within the past three years.
To guardrail the curve will cost $25,000 Morton estimated. That is about the cost for 1,000 feet of guardrail and two end sections, he said. Morton said the City of Nelson has responsibility for maintaining the stretch of road involved, so erecting a guardrail would come under that city’s jurisdiction, he said.
Because the earthen shoulder along the curve is narrow, a guardrail placed there would be quite close to the pavement, Morton said. That could produce another problem, he said, with vehicles losing control in the curve, striking the rail and glancing off into oncoming traffic.
"It's almost like pinball action," Morton explained.
Short of a guardrail, he suggested new signage first and a lowered speed limit through the curve to reduce the hazard. Morton prescribed a series of delineator signs in the curve (black chevrons on yellow background) to signal motorists of potential danger. And he said the speed limit through that stretch of Old 5 should come down from 55 miles per hour to 45.
Lowering the speed limit would require Georgia Department of Transportation permission, Morton said, if Nelson's law enforcement radar speed detection permit includes Old Highway 5. The permit does include that road, Nelson City Clerk Brandy Edwards said.
Repeated attempts to reach Nelson Mayor Bill Walker through City Hall for comment on possible city action to remedy the road curve hazard brought no response. |
|
