JEFFERSONVILLE, IN (WAVE) - As weeks continue to pass with the Sherman Minton Bridge shut down to traffic the headaches are only growing. The race for alternative routes to work is causing congestion and chaos. And some drivers want to know where are the Police in all this? WAVE 3 Troubleshooter Eric Flack heard your complaints and he is working for you to get answers.
Shelley Britt hits the road at 6:30 every morning, a full hour earlier than she used to.
"It's very stressful," Britt said of her commute from New Albany to Louisville. "I get to work and my back is knotted up and I'm shaking."
She said traffic nightmares in Jeffersonville are the reason why.
"Its a free for all, there's no rules," Britt said.
Streets that feed into the Kennedy and Clark Memorial Bridges connecting Indiana and Kentucky have been overrun with traffic ever since the Sherman Minton closed for repairs last September. And now so many drivers are cutting through Jeffersonville to get on those bridges at the last possible point it's causing bottlenecks everywhere.
"People do whatever they have to do to get on through the lights," Britt said, "to get on the bridge to get to work."
I rode alone with Britt to see for myself.
Britt blames a lack of police presence at the intersection of 10th and Spring Streets near the ramp to I-65 for backups that can stretch a half dozen blocks. The problems get even worse on Court Street where I watched Britt sit through three lights to cross one intersection all because other cars kept forcing their way into traffic and blocking her path.
In fact that happened to me and my photographer too as we drove through the intersection at Court Street and Broadway leading to the Clark Memorial Bridge.
Britt is frustrated with what she perceives as a lack of police controlling the situation.
"It's like total mayhem with no leadership," Britt said. "People don't care."
She called the WAVE 3 Troubleshooter Department to see if we could get Jeffersonville Police to crack down.
Chief Chris Grimm told me it's not the first time he's heard that complaint. But he assured me his officers are watching intersections leading to the bridges, noting one officer ticketed someone for leap frogging stopped traffic the morning we were out.
We didn't see that, but we did see a Jeffersonville patrol car sitting at the 10th and Spring Street intersection. One driver next to us heading to the bridge made an illegal right turn on red right in front of that cruiser but didn't get a ticket.
Chief Grimm told me with such a big traffic problem to manage, pulling over every violator would only slow things down even more.
"The more police officers we put in that area stopping cars may create more issues than it helps stop the problem," Grimm said.
The day after our interview Chief Grimm sent traffic officers to monitor the intersection at Court and Broadway leading to the Clark Memorial Bridge to decide if the situation is bad enough to dip into overtime reserves to put more units out during rush hour for traffic control.
But Grimm said that to completely cover all the problem areas he would have to triple his morning shift, which just isn't feasible. And after studying the traffic situation, Chief Grimm said he's opted to try and change the traffic flow at the Court Street and Broadway intersection.
Grimm thinks if they can keep cars from cutting across the Court Street intersection by shutting down the left hand turning lane for cars getting off on Exit 0 on I-65 North it would really help things. But the Jeffersonville Public Works Board has to approve that change, and that won't happen right away.
Shelley Britt just hopes something's done soon.
"I think there should be a police presence down here, directing traffic and stopping the madness."
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