The state Department of Transportation is planning significant changes to a Madison intersection that ranks as one of the most dangerous in the state.

Maine DOT’s plans, set to be implemented this summer, call for the intersection of Route 148, Ward Hill Road and Old County Road to become an all-way stop. In the current design, only cross-traffic coming off Ward Hill Road and Old County Road is supposed to stop.

The DOT also plans to implement traffic-calming measures in the area, including flashing “stop ahead” and stop signs, pavement markings, speed feedback signs, speed reduction signs from 50 to 35 mph, overhead flashing beacons and vertical delineators, according to department spokesperson Andrew Gobeil.

“The goal is to make this intersection as visible as possible,” Gobeil said via email Wednesday.

Town officials are inviting people interested in learning more about the planned design changes — and those who have opinions about it — to a public information session at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

The session is scheduled to be held at Main Street Middle School, 205 Main St. in Madison. Following the presentation will be the regular Select Board meeting, which includes a public hearing on a license application for a long-discussed addiction clinic.

Madison Town Manager Denise Ducharme told the Select Board at its most recent meeting in December that she suggested DOT share its plans with the public to get feedback before doing anything further.

“I suggested it was absolutely necessary that they come to town and hold a public information session,” Ducharme said then. “They don’t need to do a public hearing. It’s Maine DOT; it’s a state road. They can do basically what they want. But they need to hear from the citizens what’s going on and how this is going to impact them.”

Expecting a potentially large crowd, the Select Board decided to hold the meeting at the middle school auditorium instead of its usual meeting location at the Old Point Avenue school.

The DOT ranks the intersection as 19th in the state for potential fatal and serious injury crashes, according to Gobeil. Since 2004, it has been considered a “high crash location” eight times, he said.

From 2016 to 2025, there were 33 crashes at the intersection, Gobeil said. Of those, 82% were “angle crashes,” such as T-bone crashes, and 70% resulted in injuries. In 2025, 80% of crashes at the intersection resulted in serious injury.

The intersection in question does not have particularly complicated geometry, but poor sight lines and less-than-deal approaches from the two local roads seem to be responsible for some of the problems.

Currently, traffic in both directions on Route 148, known as White School House Road on the east side of the intersection and Main Street on the west, has the right of way and does not stop. The speed limit on that section is 50 mph.

Old County Road enters the intersection on the north side, and Ward Hill Road enters on the south side. They are essentially in line with each other, forming an X shape with Route 148.

Approaching the intersection heading south on Old County Road, the road turns left just before the intersection, potentially making it a sudden surprise to drivers unfamiliar with the area. Several signs, some with blinking lights, along the curve warn of the upcoming stop sign.

On the other side of the intersection, traffic approaching the intersection from Ward Hill Road goes down a hill before the road levels out a few hundred feet before the intersection. That road has similar signs — even more than on Old County Road — warning of the stop sign and dangerousness of the intersection.

Once a vehicle is stopped, from both Ward Hill Road and Old County Road, it can be difficult to see approaching eastbound traffic on Route 148. Just to the west of the intersection, the highway climbs a steep hill and turns.

Looking east from either of the two roads, westbound traffic is visible at a greater distance as it comes down a hill. But the view of that traffic can be blocked momentarily by a smaller crest and dip in between that hill and the intersection.

Motorists approaching from both directions on Route 148 are warned of the intersection by signs with blinking lights.

Gobeil, of the DOT, said engineers considered putting a traffic signal at the intersection, but it did not meet required standards. The department also considered a roundabout, but it was not cost effective, he said.

“The evidence shows that an all-way stop is the best option,” Gobeil said via email. “Historically in Maine, implementing an all-way stop has led to 66% in crash reduction, and 78% in injury crash reduction.”