Officials are considering a plan to uncork bottlenecked traffic at one of the busiest intersections in The Villages.
The Sumter County Commission will be reviewing recommendations from engineering firm Kimley-Horn & Associates Inc. for the intersection of State Road 44 at Morse Boulevard. Commissioners meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Everglades Recreation Center in The Villages.
Kimley-Horn & Associates Inc. has prepared an extensive report and traffic study for commissioners in anticipation of the meeting. The report acknowledges that the intersection has been under extreme pressure and traffic is likely to worsen with rapid development at the southern end of The Villages. In addition, a huge Walmart is under construction at the intersection of State Road 44 at Morse Boulevard.
A study of crash data indicates that from 2020 to 2025 there have been 140 crashes at that intersection. There was one fatal crash, 11 incapacitating injury crashes, and 31 non-incapacitating injury crashes. The remaining 97 crashes involved property damage only. There were no pedestrian or bicycle-related crashes at the intersection.
Among all crashes, the predominant type of crash was rear-end collisions (70 percent). Sideswipe (11 percent) and left- turn crashes (6 percent) were the next most common crash types. Of the 42 crashes involving injuries, 60 percent were rear-end crashes and 19 percent were left-turn crashes. The left-turn crashes were attributable to the protected- permissive left-turn movements, according to the Kimley-Horn study.
The fatal crash was a rear-end collision in which a vehicle traveling westbound approaching the intersection failed to slow down at the red light and struck several vehicles in front of it. This resulted in one fatality. There was no suspected use of drugs or alcohol; however, the crash report suggests the driver at fault was distracted.
The Kimley-Horn report suggests the following improvements at the intersection:
- Dual eastbound left-turn lanes
- Dual westbound left-turn lanes
- Dual northbound left-turn lanes
- Exclusive southbound right-turn lane
- Extend the southbound left-turn lane
- Bring the eastbound right-turn free-flow movement into signalized control with overlap phase
- Implement a northbound right-turn overlap phase
- Implementing coordinated signal timings