The 10 worst intersections in Sioux Falls

Spend a Saturday afternoon crawling through stop-and-go traffic on 41st Street and you'll understand why so many fender benders happen along the congested commercial corridor.

Six of the city's 10 most crash-prone intersections in recent years are on 41st Street — at Minnesota Avenue, Marion Road, Western Avenue, Louise Avenue, Interstate 29 and Kiwanis Avenue.

City officials are working to make these and other dangerous intersections safer, but they also say a certain volume of crashes should be expected based on traffic congestion levels.

Sioux Falls Police respond to more than 5,000 vehicle crashes a year. Since January 2013, the following intersections have been the site of more crashes than any other in the city:

10. 12th Street and Interstate 29

39 crashes, 10 injuries since Jan. 2013

This sprawling, six-lane box is actually two in one, with northbound and southbound vehicles following long dotted-line arches as they enter and exit the interstate. "It is such a huge intersection, you would expect it to have a high crash rate." says Sioux Falls Principal Traffic Engineer Heath Hoftiezer. What city and state transportation officials are trying to determine is whether the volume of crashes — 39 in the last 26 months — is higher than it should be for an intersection of its size. "Possibly not, but we will look at what's going on with the intersection," Hoftiezer said.

9. West 41st Street and South Minnesota

39 crashes, 6 injuries, 1 fatality since Jan. 2013

City traffic engineers have known for years that traffic signals at this intersection were difficult for some drivers to see. The lights were designed to be visible only from certain lanes and angles. "You didn't see them from certain lanes, so that led to a lot of confusion for certain people," Hoftiezer says. About once a week he's received a phone call from someone who couldn't see the lights from a lane in which they are supposed to be visible. Crews changed the intersection lights last week to make them easier to see. Another possible change on the horizon: adding a second dedicated left turn lane for eastbound drivers turning north on Minnesota Avenue. The lane would replace a shared turn lane that exists now, where drivers can turn left or continue straight.

8. 12th Street and Kiwanis Avenue

40 crashes, 9 injuries since Jan. 2013

Wear and tear on the concrete is causing problems in this intersection, Hoftiezer said. The joints holding concrete panels together are in rough shape, and as they deteriorate, sensors under the road that used to detect vehicle traffic have failed. "What we're running into is a lot of detection problems. Aside from fixing the joints were are looking at putting in a new detection system, too," Hoftiezer says.

7. East 10th Street and South Cleveland Avenue

41 crashes, 8 injuries since Jan. 2013

Major congestion is a problem at this intersection. Much of the traffic is related to Interstate 229. There isn't enough road capacity to maintain the heavy traffic flow coming to and from the interstate. City officials and the state Department of Transportation are currently conducting a study to try to address problems with the intersection. It's the third major study of the intersection in the past decade. "A lot of the fixes are major, so we're trying to build momentum and see what we need to do," Hoftiezer says.

6. East 10th Street and Cliff Avenue

48 crashes, 2 injuries since Jan. 2013

City officials admit to being puzzled by this intersection. About a year ago they invested in a major project to lower the number of crashes. Turn lanes were added because they seemed to be the major contributor to crashes. There wasn't much capacity for heavy left turn movement. But the numbers remain relatively high. "I think we're going to have to do a little bit of research to see what's going with those crashes and what we need to be doing," Hoftiezer says. "I'll be curious to look into it a little further"

5. 41st Street and Marion Road

50 crashes, 9 injuries since Jan. 2013

The city blames traffic congestion for the high number of crashes in this area, many of which are rear-end crashes. A lot of the traffic in this area is going to and from the major shopping areas.

4. 41st Street and Western Avenue

58 crashes, 15 injuries since Jan. 2013

Congestion and left turns are the main the problem at this intersection. "The (turn) radiuses are really tight, so it's hard for big pick-ups to make turn and other movements down there. We needed to get in and re-build it basically." A lot of times, he says, driver of bigger vehicles don't feel comfortable making the turns, prompting them to go outside of their lane.

3. 41st Street and Louise Avenue

64 crashes, 12 injuries since Jan. 2013

Heavy traffic congestion, much of it from drivers heading to or from the nearby Interstate 29 access, leads to lots of rear-end crashes in this intersection, Hoftiezer says. Michael Williamson, who's worked at the Barnes and Noble on the northwest corner since October, hasn't witnessed any crashes but sees lots of problems caused by people trying to make left turns and getting stuck in the intersection.

2. 41st Street and Interstate 29

64 crashes, 17 injuries since Jan. 2013

Congestion is the culprit at this intersection, too. City official are developing a plan to rebuild in the interchange to ease congestion. In the morning, 900 drivers make left turns onto the interstate to get to work. One option the city is considering is converting the intersection into a diverging diamond. Lt. Troy Lubbers of the police department says the volume of traffic can make it difficult for law enforcement to respond to crashes. He says traffic and drivers who are unfamiliar with navigating the lanes contribute to the crash total.

1. 41st Street and Kiwanis Avenue

65 crashes, 17 injuries since Jan. 2013

Since January 2013 there have been 65 crashes and 17 injuries. City engineers have calculated that there are 2.1 crashes per million vehicles that enter the intersection. Many are rear-end collisions. "Because it's a big shopping area, we have a higher than normal number of rear-ends," Hoftiezer says. One of the major projects the city is looking at to improve things is adding an adaptive traffic system this summer to improve traffic flow in the area. Marquis Cook, who works down the street at Karl's Appliance, says one problem is all the the nearby business driveways and aggressive drivers who try to cut across several lanes in one turn. "There is the far lane and they're trying to shoot across to get the gas station and the bank," he said.