Dakota Co. intersection gets safety upgrades after crashes, complaints
DAKOTA COUNTY, Minn. (FOX 9) - After months of resident complaints and a surge in crashes, a busy township intersection in the heart of Dakota County is getting several safety enhancements.
Neighbors tell FOX 9 they have complained for months about the dangerous conditions at Highway 3 and 240th Street in Castle Rock Township. In the last five weeks, they count five crashes including at least one involving serious injuries.
"I called right away," Castle Rock Township resident Nicole Sindelar told FOX 9’s Paul Blume. "I called the (Dakota) County and I am like, this is not okay. I knew this would happen. It is going to be bad."
Sindelar, who has lived in this area of Dakota County for nearly two decades, feared the worst.
When 240th Street, south of Farmington, went from gravel to pavement last year, she said, she watched as traffic and speeds increased.
Sindelar and her neighbors also noticed east and westbound drivers missing or ignoring the stop signs, creating a dangerous situation as they crossed busy Highway 3.
Sindelar, whose whole family drives through the intersection several times per day, said, "If something had happened to one of my kids, it is just not an option. It is not acceptable."
As the crashes mounted this summer including two more this week, Sindelar reports becoming more and more desperate in her complaints to the county and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), begging for safety improvements. She even slapped battery-powered lights on the signage herself to help with visibility.
On Thursday, she got some help in the form of new stop signs on both shoulders of 240th Street for approaching traffic. MnDOT also parked large digital boards to warn motorists that Highway 3 cross traffic does not stop.
Sindelar is certainly grateful for the safety enhancements, but is frustrated and disappointed it has taken several injury crashes to get them,
"I think in the future, if people have a concern about this, they should take it seriously before accidents happen," she said. "We pay taxes. We do these things for the government to keep us safe. And if there is a very black and white case of something they could have done, this is it."
A MnDOT spokesperson tells FOX 9, the department and county will continue to monitor these safety improvements which will include keeping a closer eye on the vegetation at the rural intersection, making sure sight lines are clear, as well as the eventual installation of flashing LED stop signs.