When the first traffic begins to flow on the new U.S. 641 from Marion to Fredonia in a few days, drivers will need to be vigilant to potential hazards.
As the first new highway in Crittenden County in decades, U.S. 641 blazes a 5.2 mile-trail of unknowns across a landscape that just five years ago was mostly farmland and wooded areas.
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| Click to Enlarge this map of the new highway and its intersections. |
There will be new intersections with county roads, untested pavement and regular crossing points for animals like deer that have yet to be identified, as well as unmarked areas of potential flooding in downpours and other unknown risks engineers cannot account for.
State highway officials are asking motorists to be particularly engaged in driving as everyone becomes familiar with the new highway and its crossings at county road intersections. During the construction phase, drivers have largely ignored stop signs at those intersections.
"We have folks who have been crossing without stopping and looking due to the lack of cross traffic," said Keith Todd, a spokesperson for the Department of Highways. "We’ll have standard stop signs up at all of the intersections, if they are not up already. Stop signs mean exactly that, stop."
"If you’ll recall, the first couple of years the U.S. 60 Morganfield Bypass opened there were a couple of fatal crashes due to drivers failing to stop on the cross roads or failing to see oncoming traffic," Todd added.
For more on this subject, see The Crittenden Press printed edition from Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018 where the complete article appears on the front page. Subscribe here to the full version of the newspaper online or by mail, starting at just $2.95.
