Residents along Creasy Springs in Columbia say road is unsafe

“I call it the ‘killer curve’ because of how many people that have been killed on the curve.”

Larry Bossaller is just one of many residents along Creasy Springs Road in Columbia who is speaking out after a teenager was killed and another man is in critical condition after a car crash over the weekend.

It’s an issue Bossaller said he has been pushing the city to fix for years. And city leaders agree it’s a problem area.

“It’s pretty winding and it’s not like a road that would be designed to current safety standards,” said Second Ward Councilman Michael Trapp.

Fire crews said they’ve responded to multiple wrecks on the road over the years.

In 2007, the city hired a company to do a study on the area. That study determined the road was unsafe and straightening the curve would be a fix.

But that fix came with a price tag of $9.3 million.

Although the city approved the project years ago, it still sits in the “unfunded” category.

“When we put together projects for the next capital improvement project plan, unless there’s a big up-swelling of support for this project, it’s unlikely that we’re going to set aside money toward it now,” Trapp said.

But Bossaller said you can’t put a price on human life.

“We’ve got an 18 year old that’s not going to live any longer because the city did not straighten out the curve that they knew they should have done,” he told ABC 17 News.

Trapp said there are things other than money to consider about the project.

“It’s a really pretty road,” he told ABC 17 News. “If we do straighten it out and take out some of the curves, you know, we’re going to be losing a lot of really great old trees.”

Residents said they’re also concerned about the lack of signage to warn drivers ahead of the curve that it’s coming.

Trapp said signs are something that could be considered in the short-term.

Although the project has been approved, the city said it’s in the 10 year plus category of approved road projects.