Alexandria Mayor Bennett Armstrong does not plan to seek reelection but he hopes to leave office knowing the town’s citizens are a little safer than when he first took office.

“I’d like to go out of office knowing there is at least a date when things are going to be done,” the mayor said of his hopes that something can be done along Highway 53 to make the area safer.

His concern was raised again after a crash in Alexandria a couple of weeks ago that left two injured. A wreck a couple of years back, he noted, resulted in a fatality.

The culprit, Armstrong said, is the four-way beyond what locals know as the “rock wall” and a dangerous curve near there.

“What I’d like to see is the speed limit dropped to 45 miles per hour and a sign put up that warns that people are approaching a dangerous intersection,” Armstrong said, noting he has met with area legislators, hoping they can get funding and clearance in Nashville to meet his request. “That area is just too dangerous to be going 55 and then suddenly come up on a four-way stop.”

Along with the speed limit, Armstrong pointed out the highway near Alexandria is poorly lit.

“It just has a dim sodium light,” he said. “I’d like to see an increase in lighting out there.”

The mayor said given the slow pace at which government sometimes moves, he doubts all those things can be accomplished before he goes out of office. However, he hopes there will at least be headway made on the safety requests.