Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. High 83F. Winds light and variable..

Cloudy skies early with showers later at night. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.

This view is what drivers, westbound on Northport Road, see when they pull up to the stop sign at the new intersection at S.R. 9 north of Rome City. This photo, taken from an SUV, seems to show no vehicles in sight, but two vehicles are actually hidden behind the guardrail, circled in red.

This view is what drivers, westbound on Northport Road, see when they pull up to the stop sign at the new intersection at S.R. 9 north of Rome City. This photo, taken from an SUV, seems to show no vehicles in sight, but two vehicles are actually hidden behind the guardrail, circled in red.

ROME CITY — Like getting socks and underwear on Christmas morning, the new Northport Road intersection at S.R. 9 is not what Rome City residents were hoping for.

Residents and businesses anxiously waited for months while the Indiana Department of Transportation removed the overpass bridge and designed an at-grade intersection. The intersection opened to traffic Aug. 26 and that opened a floodgate of complaints.

Drivers traveling west on Northport are complaining that they can’t see traffic on S.R. 9 when they look north toward Wolcottville because of a new guardrail that stretches alongside a wide drainage ditch. A slight bump in the road also rises to the north from the intersection, raising the guardrail along the line of sight. Even drivers of SUVs and pickup trucks, which sit high, say they can’t see traffic to the north unless they creep out past the guardrail.

Vehicles, especially white or gray ones, are completely obscured by the guardrail except for a tiny glimpse of the roof. Drivers pulling out onto S.R. 9 can’t see southbound traffic until it’s close enough to be higher than the guardrail.

Rome City town manager Leigh Pranger said at least 47 complaints about the line-of-sight issue were filed with INDOT by Monday. Another 70 complaints were posted on the town’s group Facebook page, and the numbers are climbing.

“INDOT is planning to move it (the guardrail),” Pranger said Friday, but there is no timeline yet on when that will happen.

Pranger said INDOT officials made numerous changes in the design plans after the public viewed them, but didn’t consult town officials or law enforcement about the consequences. A couple of conversations might have averted the problem.

“The trail is not accounted for there, the Amish weren’t considered,” she said.

Pranger said state Rep David Abbott, who lives in Rome City, is working with INDOT to get the problem addressed. Residents can follow the town’s Facebok page for updates.

Ironically, the overpass bridge was installed back in the 1930s to make the intersection safer as more people bought cars. The large curve on S.R. 9, arching past the dam toward town, and the mound of dirt from a defunct railroad track obstructed visibility for traffic traveling on Northport Road from either direction. The bridge allowed Northport Road traffic to pass over the highway and loop around to a location just north of Sylvan Cellars, where drivers could see better in both directions.

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