(SOUTH FULTON, Ga.) — It’s an intersection so dangerous, the Georgia Department of Transportation is stepping in to make big changes.

In 2022 alone, at least three people died in a series of crashes near Bethsaida and Jonesboro roads.

“It’s just tragic,” said Monica Peart, owner of the Alkin Academy day care nearby. “Rain, snow, sleet, sun, it doesn’t matter.”

She says she witnesses crashes at least once a week.

“We had a teacher three years ago get hit at the Dollar General just standing there waiting to get on the bus,” Peart added.

In May 2022, an 82-year old man and his wife were killed in a crash at the intersection. Two months earlier, a man was struck multiple times by several vehicles while walking on the side of the road.

“They treat the road like it’s an Indy 500,” said Georgia State Representative Debra Bazemore, who represents the 69th district.

Rep. Bazemore joined officials from GDOT in a news conference Thursday with a solution to the growing problem.

“We installed additional signage, speed limit signals, enhanced roadway visibility markings and other improvements to assist driver visibility at the intersection,” said GDOT engineer Paul DeNard.

GDOT will also install a traffic light in the interim as they prepare to design a roundabout that will take several years to design and craft.

“Roundabouts are uniquely designed to slow down traffic, so it changes the geometry as you enter the intersection,” DeNard said.

“Hopefully its going to slow down the traffic,” Peart said. “That’s what we’re hoping to make it a safer environment for the community.”

The traffic light installation will be complete by the end of the summer. It will cost about $185,000. The roundabout project will take a few years to complete.

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