Traffic on West Union Road will be slowed down as of this Friday, by two four-way stops that are being put in place at the intersections of West Union and Caeser Road and West Union, F.Z. Goss and Bouie Roads.

District IV Supervisor Patrick Lee said in an interview last week that traffic counts done on the roads show 2,000 cars per day on West Union Road, with 1,800 cars coming from Caeser Road to West Union; 1,200 coming from Bouie Road and 1,400 coming from F.Z. Goss Road.

“We’re taking this step because of the traffic increase and influx of people. There’s too much traffic on these roads not to do this,” Lee said.

The intersection of West Union with Bouie and F.Z. Goss Roads is the busier intersection, because it also sees traffic from the church and ballfield located close by.

“The ballfield is packed at least three days per week. There has always been a safety issue. The Pearl River County Sheriff’s department has been coming out and directing traffic and using traffic cones, but something else had to be done,” Lee said.

To help ease the transition to the four-way stops, Lee said the county will be use several devices, including rumble strips, blinking lights, and stop-ahead signs. Also, the caution light at the intersection of West Union with F.Z. Goss and Bouie will be changed to blink red in all directions.

Lee said the sheriff’s department will provide extra officers in the area over the first few weeks, especially during rush hours in the morning and evenings.

“We’re doing this out of concern for the safety on the road. We don’t want to cause injuries by trying to prevent injuries, so we want this to be as safe a transition as possible,” Lee said.

Lee said members of the community have contacted him and said they are fully supportive of the four-way stops at the two locations.

“I’ve had people volunteer to stand with signs and flags to help people realize there are now stop signs in these areas. Some of these people have been waiting eight years for these four-way stops,” Lee said.

County Road Manager Mike Mitchell said at the board of supervisors meeting on Monday that the new stop signs will be in place on Friday.