NEW HAVEN, Mich. (WXYZ) — At 7 News Detroit, we want to raise the voices of people who are concerned about their community. So when you take the time to message us, we take it seriously.
That includes concerns about dangerous roads and intersections, like the one in the Village of New Haven, at 26 Mile Road and M-19.
A viewer told me he and his daughter were almost killed in a crash.
Everyday, Stephen Webster takes this intersection, and every day, he experiences a wave of anxiety.
“When you do have to go through this intersection, what goes through your mind?” I asked Webster.
“Please don’t run the red light, please don’t run the red light, so I can go to work safely," Stephen said.
When Stephen reached out to me, I wanted to meet him at the intersection of 26 Mile and M-19, to see the issues first hand.
“You see just now somebody ran the red light, it’s an issue that is happening both directions this way and on 26 Mile east and West," Stephen said.
"Does it almost feel too, like it's the length of this intersection? It feels like the cars are set so far back," I responded.
"Definitely," Stephen said. "Because this isn't your typical just straight four-way. If you look how the road is, it's on so many different angels."
And it's the set-up of this intersection that is leading to the crashes, according to the New Haven Fire Chief. I asked Daniel Stier how often they are out here.
“I can probably safely guess maybe two, three times a month," Stier said.
I looked up crash data from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, or SEMCOG. That data is available at this link.
From 2018-2022, there have been 57 cashes at the intersection. Of those, 23 have been left hand turns, with 'intersection' listed as the crash factor for 94 percent of the crashes.
Two of them have been deadly, including a crash I found on the Chesterfield Township Police Department's website from 2022. Police say a 19-year-old made a left-hand turn in front of another car. Multiple people ended up in the hospital, and a 79-year-old who had a passenger in one of the cars died in the hospital.
"Do you think this intersection needs to get redone?" I asked Chief Stier.
"Oh Absolutely," he replied.
“Enough is enough, we just need to get you know the left turn lane lights installed, and make it so it is a safer intersection.” said Brian Meissen, the Village President of New Haven.
Meissen is the village president of New Haven. He has been working to secure funding to upgrade the intersection, including adding right-hand turn lanes and getting new turn lights installed.
Meissen says the cost to get the work done is just shy of $900,000. Right now, a grant is in the works through congresswoman Lisa McClain. I did reach out to her office, where they confirmed $719,000 in funding was passed out of committee. However, it needs final approval.
“Congresswoman McClain secured over $719,000 in this year’s appropriations process for road and signal improvements at the M-19/New Haven Rd and 26 Mile Rd intersection," a spokesperson for McClain said in a statement. "The bill containing the funding was passed out of committee, and as government funding discussions continue, the Congresswoman will continue fighting for the funding to be included in the final bill.”
Meissen tells me they still need to secure funding for the rest of the project.
“So I don’t think I have to tell you that sometimes government runs slowly," I said to Meissen.
"Yes, very slow, very, very slow," Meissen said.
"So with that in mind, yes, you have some hope in form of a grant, but how long do you think it is going to take to get this intersection fixed?" I asked.
“I am really hopeful that if we get the funding first thing in the beginning of next year, that we can get it one the schedule and hopefully have a project kicked off as early as next year," Meissen said.
And while Stephen is hopeful, he wants the work done as soon as possible.
“I don’t understand the whole going about waiting, waiting for funding, and waiting for that when we should get this resolved immediately," Stephen said.
