Chemung County Sheriff Christopher J. Moss and Chemung County Legislator Rodney J. Strange are asking State DOT Regional Director Martin Butler for a new traffic safety study of the Bulkhead intersection that has been the scene of several vehicle accidents in which injuries and deaths have occurred. The Southport Town Board passed a resolution asking for the review at its July 11th meeting.
The Southport intersection of Clemens Center Parkway/State Rt. 328 and State Rt. 14 has been the seen of many vehicle collisions over the past several years.
Crash data information from the Chemung County Sheriff’s Office of accidents that have occurred since 2012 include:
- 2 fatalities
- 8 reports with injuries (16 injuries total, multiple injuries per accident)
- 12 reports with property damage
In a letter to NYSDOT Region 6 Director Martin Butler, Sheriff Moss stated “Over the past 5 years, the Chemung County Sheriff’s Office has investigated several serious motor Vehicle accidents have occurred at the intersections State Route 14 South and State Route 328 (also known as Bulkhead) in the Town of Southport.” Moss wrote. “Due to the posted speed limits, when an accident does occur, the majority of them do involve personal injury.”
Legislator Strange has been concerned about this intersection for some time and believes that this is the time for a complete and thorough review of the traffic pattern. “I urge New York State Department of Transportation to conduct a new safety review to look at all aspects of this dangerous intersection and implement the necessary changes to help prevent more injuries and deaths that could in the future,” Strange said.
“As the County Sheriff and the Chairman of the Chemung County Traffic Safety Board, I have had the opportunity to speak with Southport Town Supervisor David Sheen as well as 15th District legislator Rodney Strange, who have also voiced their concerns over the number of accidents as well as the serious nature of those accidents as this particular intersection,” Sheriff Moss said in his letter to Director Butler. “I am respectfully requesting that your staff review this intersection in hopes of coming up with some type of additional safety features that might prevent, or at minimum , decrease the number of accidents at this specific location.”