By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — The intersection of Evergreen Avenue and Compo Road North has long been a nightmare for motorists and the site of multiple accidents, according to police.

Turning left or right from the stop sign at the east end of Evergreen onto Compo requires a tenuous leap of faith, as southbound traffic on Compo is barely visible on the hilly curve, yet sometimes still travels extremely fast.

As Compo, a.k.a. Route 136, is a state road, Westport doesn’t have the sole power to put in a stop sign, light, or make physical changes.

On Wednesday morning the Board of Selectmen unanimously agreed to allow the Westport Police Department to finally request a traffic study of the intersection by the state Department of Transportation.

“Over the past few years the first selectman’s office, the police department, the fire department (and) public works, have received many calls concerning Route 136 and Evergreen,” said Alan D’Amura, police staff corporal.

“It is very difficult for any vehicle to make a left turn from Evergreen,” he said. “I avoid it at all costs.”

He said there have been numerous crashes there over the years, “some of them very bad, some of them just minor accidents.”

“People are getting injured and hurt, and we need to do something about it,” D’Amura said.

He said there have been roughly 25 crashes at the intersection itself over the last 20 years, including head-on collisions, as well other accidents on the approaches to the intersection.

Official causes have included following too close, travelling too fast, and travelling too fast for conditions.

The posted speed limit on Compo is 30 m.p.h. at that intersection.

D’Amura said that because many motorists avoid the intersection, it also adds to additional traffic in other areas of town.

“It’s a reasonably treacherous intersection,” First Selectman Jim Marpe said. “It certainly deserves a good look by the state.”

While he said he sometimes takes Evergreen home from Town Hall, he never makes a left turn onto Compo Road.

“It’s still a scary proposition to use,” he said. “That is absolutely a blind curve, and when you think you’ve allowed for it and you’re halfway out in the lane, and here’s a car.”

 “I don’t ever take a left turn there,” D’Amura said.

Selectwoman Melissa Kane asked about the possibility of stop signs.

“I would not recommend a stop sign in a curve like that,” D’Amura said. “I think more accidents would happen.”

“People have asked for flashing lights — not a traffic light (but) a flashing, blinking light (and) maybe the state would reconsider realigning the intersection better,” he said.

Studies already show an average volume of Compo Road North of 2,000 vehicles per day, he said, though pre-COVID it was roughly 3,000.

State Rep. Jonathan Steinburg, D-136, applauded what he called the police department’s “pro-active approach,” and urged the selectmen to approve the study request as quickly as possible.

“Public safety should always be paramount,” he said. “The sooner we put this request in, the sooner we get DOT response.”

D’Amura said other “line-of-site problems” exist at intersections throughout town, noting that lush foliage this time of year adds to the problem.