Accidents spike around road construction along US30 in Hamlet
HAMLET, Ind.-- Road construction on U.S. Highway 30 and County Road 600 East in Hamlet is causing a major spike in car crashes.
Construction started September 26 and the Hamlet Police Department said there were four reported incidents on the very first day.
“The town of Hamlet had at least one accident that we responded to September 26. To the best of my knowledge, Starke County Sheriff's Department covered at least three more accidents that evening. In that same intersection," said Hamlet Police Chief Clint Norem.
The metal barriers and lack of a turn lane is causing limited visibility when crossing the intersection.
This is the main concern for neighbor Mel Gamblin living next to the construction.
“Because you can't see when you're coming this way, and other people are going this way, you can't see past the barrier and you can't see the headlights so everybody just crashes. It’s heart stopping when you hear it every time. You hear it it’s a nasty, nasty sound," she said.
Gamblin and her husband share they've helped many of the accident victims get out of their cars, and call for help.
There are still a few weeks left in construction and resident's want something to be done about it.
IDOT and DLP, the company responsible for the construction, were both reached out to for comment but a response was not received before the time of publication.
In the meantime, Chief Norem said, "Individuals need to be a bit more patient. They're going to need to look for traffic. The stop signs they put on the intersection, abide by that stop sign. Stop, view for oncoming traffic before you proceed through that intersection."