The Alabama Department of Transportation will be making changes on Highway 21 near Jacksonville State University following the death of student Leah Tarvin, who was hit by a vehicle nearly two weeks ago and died days later.
Transportation Director John Cooper and other ALDOT officials met with JSU President Dr. Don Killingsworth, members of his staff and Jacksonville Mayor Johnny L. Smith last week, a meeting requested by ALDOT, according to a press release issued Monday.
At that meeting, said ALDOT spokesman Tony Harris, Cooper told Killingsworth and Smith that ALDOT would be making changes on Highway 21 to accommodate current and future traffic needs, specifically dealing with vehicles entering/exiting parking lots in front of Brewer Hall and Merrill Hall.
As part of these changes, a new traffic signal will be installed at Skelton Street. Once the new signal is installed, Harris said, the mid-block pedestrian crosswalks in front of Brewer Hall and Merrill Hall will be removed and a crosswalk will be installed at the Skelton Street signal.
Also, Alabama Street’s connection to Highway 21 will be closed.
Under the new configuration, Harris said, pedestrian crosswalks will be available at Skelton Street and at the Highway 21-Highway 204 intersection approximately 850 feet away, both of which will be intersections with signals.
The work will begin Tuesday, and the changes are expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Harris said JSU, the City of Jacksonville and ALDOT officials will engage in ongoing discussions regarding future traffic and pedestrian needs on Highway 21 and Highway 204.
Tarvin, 22, was struck at 5:54 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, in a crosswalk on Highway 21 near Brewer Hall. She was treated on scene by Jacksonville Fire and EMS medics and then airlifted to UAB Hospital in Birmingham where she died two days later.
The driver of the vehicle that struck Tarvin did stop at the scene. Police Chief Marcus Wood said once the investigation is complete, they will present the findings to the district attorney’s office to determine whether any charges are warranted.
Tarvin was from Cullman County. She graduated from Holly Pond High School and then attended Wallace State. She was studying forensic investigations at JSU.
Following the crash, JSU officials said accidents like Tarvin’s had “unfortunately, become all too common at JSU.”
“For decades, members of the JSU community have been injured or even killed while crossing the two state highways that intersect our campus,’’ according to a JSU statement. “We have already had four pedestrians injured in three accidents on these roadways this year.”
“Since Highways 21 and 204 are state-controlled, it limits the university and city’s ability to make improvements to keep our community safe,’’ the statement read.
