As we told you, six of the top ten most dangerous intersections in St. Joseph County are all in Mishawaka on the stretch of Grape road near the mall.

-Grape & Douglas
-Grape & University
-Grape & Indian Ridge
-Grape & Day
-Grape & Edison
-Grape & Edison Lakes Parkway

Police officers and the public are concerned about traffic and crashes firemen say these intersections have them worried about response time, especially during holiday shopping season.

Lieutenant Brian Linson says, “It's very difficult to get one of these big rigs around this area.

With the bumper to bumper traffic, road construction, a brand new hospital being built and six of the county's most dangerous intersections all lumped together, Linson says responding to calls from the Douglas Road fire station can be frightening.

Linton says, “It's somewhat frustrating when you're sitting at a light and you can see the black smoke and there's really nowhere to go.”

Just a few weeks ago, Linton says this happened.

He says, “Douglas Road is down to one lane both ways and it was a Friday afternoon. Usually our response time is three to five minutes and it took us quite a while and we were getting paranoid.”

Mishawaka Mayor Jeff Rea says he and other city leaders recognize the paranoia that's why their paying big bucks to fix the problem.

Rea says, “As the hospital moves up there, we'll do traffic interceptors. The fire trucks and ambulances will be able to intercept traffic. With the stop lights, we've tried interconnecting lights and timing signals so they're smarter when they need time.”

Rea says all of the road construction in this area is also part of the improvements. He says it's frustrating, but it's for safety purposes in the long term.

Rea says, “The goal is to have this all wrapped up by the Christmas season.”

In the meantime, Lieutenant Linson asks that drivers help make firefighters' jobs easier. If you hear them coming, don't stop and stare.

Linson says, “Try not to block the intersection. Stay where you are but if you're halfway through, obviously you've got to turn and then just get out of the way.”
Mayor Rea, police, and firefighters also gave some suggestions for getting through the traffic nightmare.

-turn right, not left
-north bound on Grape and south bound on Main is quicker
-pay attention
-don’t talk or text on your cell phone