ODOT, Residents Discuss Improving Dangerous Muskogee County Intersection

A community in Muskogee County is calling on state lawmakers and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to fix a deadly intersection.

The intersection is the Summit exit off of Highway 69 just south of Muskogee.

It’s very rare that you see ODOT's director, Mike Patterson, on the side of the road on a Tuesday night checking out a very dangerous intersection in Muskogee County.

Aleshia Gates died in a crash on Highway 69 three years ago at the Summit exit. Her life was remembered at a community meeting to get the intersection fixed.

"This is one of those things that I think we can improve on," Patterson said.

Just about everyone at the meeting Tuesday knew someone affected by the dangerous turn.

Pastor Glenn Gardner said, "I remember when I was a kid, my uncle and my aunt were hit at that intersection. It's pretty dangerous. We have semi-trucks coming off that hill."

"The traffic has really, really, gone up. There was a lot more traffic than there was a few years ago," said Summit restaurant owner, Vernon Logan.

Summit resident, Daniel Neale said, "It's a dangerous spot. I think this meeting is a great meeting to have concerning it. It's one of those things, how many lives have to be lost because of it - something that's a easy fix you know."

Now it's up to lawmakers and highway officials to make changes; talks about more signs and signals are in the works.

Representative Avery Frix said, "I think that tonight kicked off the discussion and made this a priority for ODOT and made it a priority for our House. And anytime I think there's a loss of life and the state can prevent that, we have to do that."

ODOT said it will take the information learned from Tuesday's meeting and come up with a plan to improve this dangerous intersection.