MADISON — Town officials signed off on two letters Monday night urging the state Department of Transportation to reconsider its proposal for an all-way stop at one of Maine’s most dangerous intersections.

The select board voted unanimously to send a letter that Town Manager Denise Ducharme drafted, as well as another letter from Road Commissioner Jeff Wright. They hope the letters prompt state transportation officials to consider other solutions for the intersection of Route 148, Ward Hill Road and Old County Road.

The DOT is proposing an all-way stop and various traffic-calming measures at the intersection, which the department currently ranks as 19th out of about 32,000 in the state for potential fatal and serious injury crashes. 

In the current design, only cross-traffic heading north off Ward Hill Road and south off Old County Road is supposed to stop. 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.

Town officials and residents have generally agreed something needs to be done to improve the X-shaped intersection, which has poor sight-lines and other flaws. But many people have expressed concerns about the all-way stop, including at a Jan. 12 informational session. 

Those include the challenge of stopping loaded trucks on the hill in the area of the intersection and impatient drivers who will not want to stop on Route 148. Some all-way stop critics proposed less drastic modifications, like speed limit reductions, overhead flashing lights and realignment of the intersection to make turns closer to 90 degrees.

The first letter approved Monday, addressed to the agency’s acting commissioner, Dale Doughty, and Bob Skehan, director of DOT’s Office of Safety and Mobility, recapped residents’ feedback from the Jan. 12 informational session and requested reconsideration of the proposal.

“While we understand that change in general causes anxiety, we all want to have safe roads on which to drive,” the letter states. “There seems to be, however, a strong resistance from the MDOT safety engineers to allow for smaller, incremental changes that occur over time. Rather, the focus is on the highest benefit for the cost, regardless of consequences, anticipated or not.”

Ducharme said she drafted the letter at the suggestion of state Sen. Brad Farrin, R-Norridgewock. Farrin, whose district includes Madison, serves on the Legislature’s transportation committee.

Wright’s letter, addressed to Region 3 Traffic Engineer Tim Soucie and also signed by the select board members, suggests DOT consider a variety of measures in coordination with the town on the secondary roads.

Wright’s suggestions included speed limit reductions on Ward Hill and Old County roads from 45 to 35 mph near the intersection, a series of reflective chevrons and stop ahead markings painted on both roads, two speed tables on the Ward Hill Road approach and one on Old County Road, and removal of trees in the area to improve visibility.

“We would like to implement these measures and monitor the incidence rate at this intersection for one year prior to any four-way stop being mandated,” the letter states.

Wright said he drafted his letter after speaking with Soucie, who told him DOT would be receptive to the request for speed limit changes on the secondary roads. But it was unknown, Wright said, whether DOT officials would factor in the suggested changes as they weigh whether to proceed with the all-way stop plan.

“(Soucie) indicated that if we took measures to request a 35 mph (zone), that we could do what we wanted to do as far as any calming devices in the road,” Wright told the select board.

Wright said he expects more conversations with Soucie, and he was working with landowners about possible tree removal and would have more information to share soon.

The local utility, Madison Electric Works, meanwhile, said it could install an additional street light as soon as possible to better illuminate one of the stop signs on Ward Hill Road. A pole is already in place, so the cost would only be about $15 a month to the town.

The DOT is considering the input from the town, spokesperson Andrew Gobeil said in a statement Wednesday.

“The plans shared with the community last month are being studied based on feedback received from the public,” the statement said. “This intersection has long been ranked among the state’s highest for potential fatal and serious injury crashes; accordingly, Maine DOT will work with the community to address those safety concerns.”

DOT engineers have insisted the all-way stop is the safest and most cost-effective solution for the intersection.

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

Since 2004, the state has considered the intersection a “high crash location” eight times.

State highway safety engineer Dennis Emidy said at the Jan. 12 information session that there are about 140 all-way stops on its DOT-maintained roads across the state. And there have been no fatalities at those intersections since 2003, when DOT started keeping digital records, Emidy said.

Where the DOT has implemented new all-way stops, they have resulted in a 66% reduction in crashes and 78% reduction in crashes with injuries, he said. As an example, Emidy pointed to the similar intersection of Routes 133 and 156 in Jay.

The intersection in Madison did not meet requirements for a traffic light, Emidy said. DOT also considered a roundabout, but Emidy said it would not be cost-effective and there were no federal funds available.

Other possible solutions, such as overhead blinking yellow lights for Route 148 and blinking red lights for Ward Hill Road and Old County Road, were not supported by data, he said.