HOLLAND TWP., MI (WHTC) – A busy intersection that has seen more than its share of crashes in less than a year is getting some more scrutiny from the Ottawa County Road Commission.
Crews installed today stop signs on 120th Avenue at New Holland Street, on the border of Holland and Olive townships, to make that junction a four-way stop. So far in 2016, there have been seven accidents at that intersection, continuing a trend that saw six wrecks last year and four in 2015.
What may have been the final straw came earlier this month, when a 53-year-old West Olive woman suffered critical injuries when she stopped on New Holland Street and then proceeded into the intersection, where a northbound semi broadsided her car, which then wrapped itself around the front of the truck. The decision to add the stop signs came at the Commission’s next meeting a week later.
Previous preventative actions such as reflective strips on the stop signs and signs that warned of cross road traffic not stopping didn’t cut down on the accident rate at that intersection. According to Road Commission officials, an increase in traffic volume on 120th Avenue since the opening of M-231 last year was also taken into consideration.
