The Maine Department of Transportation is buying this vacant house at Routes 133 and 156 in Jay to make safety improvements to the intersection.

JAY — The state plans to make improvements to a high-crash location at the intersection of Routes 133 and 156 to increase visibility, slow vehicles down and hopefully reduce accidents, according to Paul Merrill, spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation.

Seventeen accidents have occurred at the site over the past three years and 29 in the past five years, he said.

The state is in the process of buying a vacant house at the intersection and will officially own it Aug. 20. The department budgeted $215,000 for the project, which includes the house, demolition and improvements, according to Aurele Gorneau II, DOT project manager.

Plans call for demolishing the house and cutting a ditch at the intersection on the right side of Route 133 to lower bushes that block visibility, he said. Curbing will be installed in front of where the house now stands so motorists cannot park there, which should improve visibility in the area, Gorneau said.

Other improvements include replacing the flashing red or yellow beacons at the intersection with upgraded lights. A solar-operated, flashing stop sign will be relocated on Route 156, back about 5 feet from where the stop sign is now in front of the house.

A three-vehicle crash at Routes 133 and 156 in Jay in January is one of 17 there in the past three years. The state plans to improve safety by demolishing a vacant house and changing lights, among other upgrades. Sun Journal file photo

There will also be solar-powered speed limit signs — 35 mph — on the north and south lanes of Route 133, and a solar-powered sign that will show vehicle speeds.

The project will be put be out to bid at the end of September. Some of the work, including demolition of the house, will be done this year.

The project is scheduled to be completed in May 2020, Gorneau said.