By John Mott Coffey
NATCHEZ, Miss. – A busy, accident-prone downtown intersection will become an all-three-way stop to help prevent the many crashes that have occurred in recent years with the traffic lights there for decades.
The intersection of Martin Luther King and State streets has had 16 accidents the past couple of years, according to statistics presented Tuesday to the Natchez Board of Aldermen. The board voted to replace the rotating red-yellow-green lights with all-stop signals.
MLK Street is a two-lane boulevard for traffic going north and south while State Street is one way going east. Their crossing is among the most accident-ridden in the city, said Natchez Public Works Department director Justin Dollar. He noted eight crashes took place there in 2017 and eight in 2018 with the stop-and-go lights. Most accidents last year were eastbound vehicles on State ramming into southbound vehicles on MLK, he said.
Residents living at the intersection have raised concerns about the high accident rate and even posted their own advanced-warning signs telling motorists of a stop ahead.
While agreeing to convert the intersection to a three-way stop, city officials said either red stop lights or simply stop signs could be used.