28-03-2025
Enhancements and new crosswalks coming to Green River Road
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) – Sugar Mill Creek and Green River roads are one of three intersections set to receive safety enhancements and upgraded surfaces through the Evansville's Community Crossings grant. This comes after residents created a petition to add a crosswalk at the Sugar Mill Creek intersection, but City Engineer Mike Labitzke says these plans have been in the works for months.
'It really is kind of coincidental,' explains Labitzke. 'We already, we applied for the grant money in January. Once we got the grant money, we went right to design the plans.'
Crews will resurface the road to fix structural issues while adding crosswalks at Theater Drive, Spring Valley Road and Sugar Mill Creek Road. 'We're going to add left turn lanes as well,' says Labitzke. 'For instance, the northbound traffic going into Meijer's, Spring Valley, will have a dedicated turn lane because we see that as an issue.'
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Labitzke says work will begin in mid-May from Constellation Drive to Lynch Road before shifting to Sugar Mill Creek by June or July. He says crosswalks will have hearing features and be timed to allow pedestrians to cross safely.
'We're going to do it overnight so that we can avoid impacts, as much impact as possible to the motoring traffic,' explains Labitzke. 'It will, however, may interfere with sleep with the apartment complexes that are along Green River Road, but really we will be moving past those fairly quickly.'
'There's busy intersections, I mean, when you congest those with both foot traffic and vehicles, it's a bad mix at times,' explains Sgt. Anthony Aussieker with the Evansville Police Department. Aussieker says in 2024 there were 44 incidents of pedestrians being hit by vehicles, with 31 of those resulting in injuries, including 5 fatalities. He says it is crucial for pedestrians and drivers to be alert at all times.
'Pedestrian versus vehicle is never good for the pedestrian,' says Sgt. Aussieker. 'You know, physics come into play and that's just never a good interaction, so be aware of your surroundings.'
Work on all three crosswalks is expected to be done by the end of this construction season, possibly as early as late August or September.
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