An intersection proven to be a deadly menace to drivers continues to prey upon unsuspecting area residents, and the Illinois Department of Transportation should take quick action to solve this problem.

Two teen-agers recently were killed at U.S. Route 51 and Presley Tour Road, a dangerous intersection in Makanda that is the site of five serious accidents in the past three years. Presley Tour Road, most often referred to as Makanda Road, meets the highway about five miles south of the SIUC campus.

Makanda residents and regular U.S. 51 travelers alike have complained about the recklessness of speeding drivers on both thoroughfares. Future accidents may be prevented with the aid of some sort of warning to alert all drivers to the intersection’s dangerous potential. The erection of at least one sign at the intersection could get that warning across.

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But IDOT is not considering this simple request. Bill Stout, district operations engineer for IDOT, recently said the deaths of those two teen-agers were not enough evidence to sway IDOT into planning any changes to the intersection. If it’s a high-accident location then we would look into it, he said. This intersection is not.

How many more accidents and how much loss of life will it take for IDOT to put up a simple warning sign at the intersection? One more accident is one too many.

The answer to that question depends on the comparison IDOT makes each year to determine which intersections in the Southern Illinois region have the most collisions. It is those intersections with the highest number of collisions that are focused on for possible renovations.

Although this method undoubtedly is used by IDOT to protect Illinois taxpayers from spending unnecessary money on projects, there should be a simpler method that these same taxpayers could use to protect their loved ones on the road. This method would not involve tallying amounts of death and destruction to determine a course of action.

The ideal method would factor in a healthy dose of common sense and more than an ounce of prevention when a course of action is needed to save lives. This is what IDOT needs to do to help travelers on U.S. 51 and Presley Tour Road, and it only takes placing a warning near the intersection to do the job.

And the amount of money invested in placing a warning at the intersection should not be considered. Our lives are more important than that.

But until IDOT decides to do the right thing, area drivers need to be aware that crossing U.S. 51 on Presley Tour (or Makanda) Road cannot be done at reckless speeds. Likewise, U.S. 51 travelers also should be aware that drivers just may cut across their paths at any given time when nearing Presley Tour Road. Drivers on both roads:Please reduce your speed when approaching this intersection, and look out for other cars. These actions just may save your lives.

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Area residents have erected a cross at the intersection of U.S. 51 and Presley Tour Road in memory of the teen-agers killed at that dangerous spot. We can only hope IDOT soon will erect a sign to join the unsettling reminder.