The intersection at Itasca County roads 57 and 336 is a few miles outside Nashwauk.
(Gary Meader/ News Tribune)
EMS worker Troy Boettcher, 51, of Warba, and Michael Latimer, 17, of Grand Rapids, were killed at the intersection June 8, when the ambulance they were traveling in was struck by a dump truck. On May 24, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Sarah Grell was killed in a crash with a semitrailer truck.
Both Grell and the ambulance had been traveling on County Road 336, attempting to cross County Road 57, which does not yield to crossing traffic at the intersection.
“When I look at the intersection, it’s got adequate sight distance and is much like numerous other rural intersections throughout our county and other counties,” Itasca County engineer Karin Grandia said. “By the same token, there have been two tragic accidents in a short period of time. Based on that, we felt it was our obligation to do whatever we could to draw attention to the intersection.”
State and local traffic safety professionals, including engineers, educators, law enforcement personnel and Itasca County commissioners, conducted a site visit at the intersection last week before making recommendations to the county’s transportation department.
The intersection will continue to be a two-way stop, with north-south traffic on County Road 336 stopping at the site, while east-west traffic carries through with right of way at the intersection.
The additional safety measures expected at the site include:
“We’re going to have increased visibility of the fact that there’s a stop sign,” Grandia said. “We’re also upgrading to larger signs.”
Grandia said the signs have been ordered, and that some of the improvements will come faster than others.
“We’re not sure what’s at play at that intersection recently to account for the crashes to occur in such a close timeframe,” Grandia said. “We wanted to do anything we can to impact the future at the intersection.”