NORRIDGEWOCK – Few here would argue that a three-way intersection near the Kennebec River bridge is dangerous.

Concrete arches block the views of oncoming vehicles approaching U.S. Route 201A from a pair of side roads. Drivers often must inch out, sometimes narrowly avoiding collisions with other vehicles.

The state Department of Transportation believes that intersection is the perfect place to try out a new system designed to alert drivers to approaching vehicles.

Under the system, vehicle detectors will send signals to warning signs. The signs, in turn, will flash to tell drivers from which direction other traffic is approaching.

The DOT plans to have the system in place by the end of the year, at a cost of about $36,000. If all goes well, the state will install similar flashing signs in the spring at one other dangerous intersection in Maine, with the ultimate goal of using the system statewide.

DOT officials hope the warning system will reduce accidents at blind intersections where traffic lights or other improvements are not possible.

“It’s designed to aid the driver in making a decision,” said Gerry Audibert, DOT safety management coordinator. “It’s still up to the driver to decide when it’s safe to proceed.”

The state targeted Norridgewock for the pilot program at the request of town officials.

Although the state intends to replace the Kennebec River bridge, the project is a few years off. Officials hope the warning system will work well enough to reduce problems in the meantime.

“When you’re at that intersection, there’s maybe two seconds of reaction time,” Audibert said Tuesday. “There are a lot of near misses.”

Years ago, the state installed a diamond-shaped warning sign at the intersection to alert traffic headed north on Route 201A of vehicles approaching from two side roads.

The problem was that pillars largely blocked the views of drivers approaching the bridge from Sophie May Lane and River Road, Audibert said. As a result, they never knew if there was traffic on Route 201A.

Audibert said the new warning system would mark the state’s first use of vehicle detectors to warn motorists stopped on side roads to approaching traffic at a blind intersection.

The DOT has used vehicle detectors and flashing lights separately at hundreds of traffic signals in Maine, but has never combined them in this way.

Under the plan, the state will place traffic-activated warning signs facing the Sophie May Lane and River Road approaches to the Norridgewock bridge. The signs will be connected to vehicle detectors on Route 201A.

Drivers stopped on the side roads will see 4-by-4-foot warning signs reading, “Vehicles Approaching.” Below them will be 24-by-68-inch signs bearing the outlines of two cars, one coming from the left and another from the right.

At first, the signs will light up for two seconds to indicate they are working. Then, if another vehicle is approaching the intersection on Route 201A, one of the directional signs will flash for nine seconds. The delay will give a vehicle coming from another direction time to clear the intersection.

Neither Norridgewock’s manager nor the chairman of the town’s Board of Selectmen could be reached Tuesday for comment on the project.

State traffic safety engineers will monitor the system to make sure it works properly.