ST. JOSEPH CO. — People who live and work near the intersection of US-31 and Roosevelt Road said they see accidents on a regular basis.

For the past decade more than 100 accidents, some of them fatal, occurred at the intersection.

Construction workers are stationed along US-31 to pave the road and make other modifications to plans that were originally too costly, and created nearly two decades ago.

The road has a bad reputation in the area as a dangerous intersection. Lois Stiffler works near the intersection. "Once a month the sirens come on," she said. "I hear the screeching tires and I've witnessed two serious accidents here."

There's no turning lane on the fast moving highway, but steep hills prohibit turning safely at the intersection. State Farm ranked the intersection as one of the state's most dangerous.

"It was extremely hard to get on to Roosevelt Road, coming from either way, especially if you had to cross traffic," explained Rachelle Heim, who also works near the intersection.

INDOT is attempting to make the intersection safer, planning first to lower the crest of the hill about three feet to improve visibility. That plan proved too costly, so adjustments were made.

"Now that we've lowered the road a little bit and raised the outside edges, it still 100 percent addresses the sight distance to improve everybody's concerns," said Joshua Bingham, spokesperson with the Indiana Department of Transportation.

INDOT is also adding a middle turn lane to prevent rear-end accidents.

The $1.5 million project is expected to wrap up by mid-September.