A tractor-trailer got stuck on a new roundabout on Sherrills Ford and Briggs roads this morning.
Few details are available, but people at the scene said the truck jumped a curb and got stuck in the dirt center of the roundabout about 5 a.m. The front of the tractor was damaged and fire crews were called to clean up gas that spilled from the truck’s fuel tanks.
Crews unhitched the trailer and towed the tractor out of the mud.
The investigating trooper is off duty and an accident report is not yet available.
The roundabout has been controversial since its creation.
Mendee Williams petitioned officials with the North Carolina Department of Transportation for increased safety at the intersection after her son, Greg, 18, was killed in a collision at the intersection in July 2009.
State officials eventually responded with the roundabout, the first roundabout in Rowan County.
“After a careful study of traffic patterns and accident history, the data show that a roundabout will improve safety at this intersection more effectively than any other option,” Pat Ivey, division engineer who oversees traffic projects in Rowan, said in early 2012. “With 22 accidents and one fatality in five years here, it’s critical that we install the most cost-effective, long-term solution to help prevent dangerous crashes, and that’s exactly what the roundabout will allow us to do.”
Neighbors at the intersection disapproved of the roundabout and lobbied against it.