The five-way junction of Old Seneca Turnpike, County Line Road and Franklin Street Road at the Sennett/Skaneateles border has long been a dangerous intersection.

Most motorists speed down Old Seneca Turnpike from the east or Franklin Street Road from the west and barrel through the junction without a second thought. Visibility at the intersection is limited at best, and numerous accidents have occurred there throughout the years.

But recently, several government organizations collaborated to make the intersection much safer.

Onondaga County, Cayuga County, the town of Skaneateles and the town of Sennett worked together to install a flashing light at the junction, and work was completed and the light put in operation earlier this month.

The recently installed traffic light, which blinks yellow for turnpike motorists and red for travelers on County Line Road, makes the intersection much less hazardous, town of Skaneateles Highway Superintendent James Card said.

“There have been a lot of accidents there, and three or four involving large trucks,” he added, noting that trucks hauling sand from a nearby pit frequently use the intersection.

Two years ago, he explained, Onondaga County Department of Transportation engineers did a study of the area surrounding the junction to determine the best method of solving the problem.

“Our first option was to reroute (Franklin Street coming from the village of Skaneateles) to County Line Road, and make it a four-way intersection instead of five,” he continued.

Enter Onondaga County Legislator James Rhinehart, who represents the Sixth District which includes Skaneateles.

Rhinehart, R- Skaneateles, said he travels through the intersection almost daily so he already was aware of the problem.

“People had been pressing the town board in Skaneateles to do something about it, so I was more than happy to come on board,” he said from his office.

Rerouting the town road, he explained, required acquiring land from private residents, who Rhinehart said were unwilling to sell part of their property. As another option, the organizations decided to install the blinking light.

Crews repaved the junction and added fresh signage last year, but the light was put in earlier this month.

“I think it's the best solution,” Rhinehart said. “It makes people more aware that that's a difficult intersection.”