Drivers urged to use caution at Trunk Road intersection due to visibility-blocking berm

What you need to know:

• A large temporary construction berm at the Trunk Road and Palmer-Fishhook Road intersection is blocking visibility for some drivers, prompting safety concerns and calls for extra caution until it is removed next summer as part of a planned roundabout project.
• The roughly 6-foot berm has been linked to at least one crash since its installation late last month. Officials repainted the stop line, reinstalled a light pole, and issued guidance to help drivers navigate the area.
• About 6,300 vehicles pass through the intersection daily. Poor travel conditions underscore the need for improvements, officials said.

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PALMER — A large construction berm installed against a busy Trunk Road intersection as part of an upcoming roundabout project is blocking views of oncoming traffic for some drivers, and users should be extra careful when traveling in the area, state transportation officials said this week.

The roughly 6-foot temporary berm wraps around the north side of the Trunk Road and Palmer-Fishhook Road intersection, obscuring views of oncoming traffic for drivers turning left from Trunk Road unless they pull all the way forward to the stop sign.

Known as a surcharge mound, the berm was installed late last month as part of preliminary work ahead of a roundabout construction project planned for the intersection next summer. It is designed to compress the ground beneath it and will be removed when work restarts next year, officials said.

Drivers in the area often stop well behind the Trunk Road stop sign to allow space for traffic making the tight left turn. But going forward, vehicles on Trunk Road will need to pull close to the white stop line to see around the berm, while those turning left onto Trunk Road from Palmer-Fishhook will need to slow down and carefully navigate around vehicles waiting there, officials said. 

“We’ve got the stop line where the cars are supposed to stop,” state transportation spokesman Justin Shelby said in an interview. “Once you pull forward to that line, there’s no issue with sight distance of being able to see the oncoming traffic, or them being able to see you.”

A late-afternoon crash at the intersection last week was caused by a driver who did not pull forward far enough to see around the berm before proceeding into the intersection, Shelby said.

State contractor QAP visited the area after the crash and repainted the white line so drivers can better see where to stop, and reinstalled a light pole that had been removed as part of the berm construction, Shelby said. Transportation officials also published guidance on social media about navigating the work zone.

About 6,300 vehicles a day pass through the area, which has little lighting and is often slick with ice. Construction on the $5.65 million project is expected to completely close the intersection for about two weeks next summer and require miles-long detours.

Shelby said the combination of high traffic volume and poor travel conditions underscores the need for the new roundabout. When complete, the single-lane roundabout will include 10 light fixtures, he said.

“Part of the reason for that roundabout project is to correct the issues with this intersection,” he said. “Once the roundabout project is complete, these issues will go away.”

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com