Rick and Stephanie Hickman live in a quaint and quiet neighborhood in the village of Bethlehem, a community that rides ridges north and south above the city of Wheeling. Until, that is, yet another 18-wheeler’s driver creeps confused down Chapel Hill Road.
Wait. What?
The most recent traffic conducted on Interstate 470 by the state Department of Transportation indicated that, on average, between 26,000 to 38,000 vehicles travel the bypass freeway each day, but the current closure of the I-470 westbound entrance ramp at Bethlehem has added a detour to the traffic patterns in the area.
Several times a week, drivers of tractor-trailers somehow get lost in Rick Hickman's very quiet neighborhood.
Too often, truck drivers wander off course, and the affected neighborhood is near the intersection of Chapel Hill Road, Highland Lane, and Hubbard Lane. If he’s home when it happens, that’s when Rick Hickman heads outside to assist again with hopes of protecting his property and his neighbor’s yards, too.
“We’ve lived here since 1999, and there have been trucks in the past, but since this construction started on I-470 and now that the state has the entrance to the westbound lanes closed, there’s been a lot more,” Hickman explained. “For some stupid reason, those drivers get up this way, and then there’s really no place for a tractor-trailer to turn around.
“Most of the time, the drivers say that it’s their GPS’s fault,” he said. “There’s a lot of them who are looking for the (Ogden) printing press that’s down over the hill, and they think they can get there from here. If their GPS is showing that ‘Suicide Hill’ is still open, I’d say they need an update.”
Once the truckers get too deep in along Chapel Hill Road, this area near Hickman's home appears as the only opportunity to get turned around. (Image: Google Earth)
Hickman, however, has had to learn to video his interactions for all the wrong reasons.
“I do the videos because I’ve been threatened before. So, I do them for my own safety,” he explained. “Most of the drivers are just lost and they appreciate the help, but this one guy got up in my face and wanted to know why I was recording. I told him I was recording because of the possible property damage, and he just stared at me. I don’t need anyone smacking me upside the head.
“Some of the drivers have gotten themselves turned around, but then they’ve taken off without reporting the signs they’ve taken out or the damaged yards,” he said. “I put some of the videos on my Facebook page so people can see what this neighborhood is dealing with so maybe someone will see it and do something about it.”
While Hickman appreciates these signs, he believes - at least during the interstate construction - that additional signage needs to be placed in the area of Chapel Hill Road and the freeway's intersection.
Communication Meltdown
Half the time, Hickman believes, the truckers’ collective confusion has been caused by the ongoing construction, but he’s also encountered some drivers who struggle with the English language.
That’s why the Bethlehem resident has been forced to adapt and pivot.
“I think a lot of them just aren’t paying attention to the signage. We do need better, with more obvious signage. They see the orange detour signs, but that seems to be about it,” Hickman said. “Maybe we need those signs that have the flashing lights on them, I don’t know. Those lights would need to flash 24 hours a day, that’s for sure.
Thanks to the lost and confused truck drivers, stop signs have been trampled, and yard damage has often occurred.
“I’ve been out there helping the driver’s at all times of day – even in the middle of the night. It was 2:19 in the morning once,” he explained. “As far as speaking English, I’d say it’s half-and-half, and most of them speak broken English. So, explaining what they have to do to turn around has been tough sometimes, but we eventually get them out of here.”
But enough is enough, and that’s why Hickman plans to address Bethlehem’s village council during its regular meeting tomorrow evening at 8 p.m.
Stephanie and Rick Hickman have lived in the same area of Bethlehem since 1999.
“I’m going so I can ask them what I need to do to get something done. Is it the village that needs to put up the signs, or is it the state? I’m guessing it’s the state because it involves traffic from the interstate, but I want to make sure,” he said. “Maybe if I start with the Village Council, they will be able to help get something done sooner than later.
“I also want to ask if the gas line that’s near the front of my front yard is my responsibility if it gets hit. There have been a few times when it’s come really close, so I want to know if it can be moved to avoid that kind of disaster,” Hickman added. “I think this is a problem that can be fixed by some common sense.”
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