HARRISBURG, S.D. (KELO) — School is back in session for many districts.
It’s a good reminder to be extra careful on the roads.
Slow down and don’t follow cars in front of you too closely.
That’s the advice from Lincoln County Sgt. Chris Kuntz after multiple crashes on State Highway 115 since Tuesday morning.
He says four of them happened in the same area, north of Tiger Way, which is a road leading to Harrisburg High School.
“Traffic backing up from the turn lane into the passing lane onto 115 causing cars to stop as they’re all turning into the high school,” Kuntz said.
The speed limit on that stretch of highway is 55.
“Just because the speed limit is 55 you don’t have to drive 55,” Kuntz said.
Harrisburg city administrator Amanda Mack says traffic challenges on the road aren’t new.
“It certainly happens throughout the year. It’s a little bit exacerbated at the start of the school year, but as we continue to grow, especially to the northwest, the volume of traffic on 115 is going to continue to increase, and so it will continue to be a challenge that we have to figure out how to solve,” Mack said.
“There are current discussions between the sheriff’s office, the Harrisburg city management, the school district, and DOT. I don’t think there’s going to be a perfect solution, but longterm down the road I think everyone’s trying to work together to figure out how can we best minimize accidents going forward,” Kuntz said.
Mack says a meeting among the four entities is scheduled for Friday.
The DOT has put up a sign along the highway warning drivers of slow traffic ahead.
The Harrisburg School District says from its perspective, the concern of that road is nothing new.
The district says it will continue working with stakeholders to advocate for and implement any necessary changes.
