Wednesday, April 10, 2002
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Wednesday, April 10, 2002 |
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Synchronized red lights arrive Mon. By MONROE ROARK
Synchronize your watches er, traffic lights. And get ready for some delays next week at the busy intersections along two major highways in Fayetteville. A long-awaited project intended to make traffic flow more smoothly through Fayetteville is finally coming to fruition. City officials hope to have nearly all of the city's traffic lights coordinated by the middle of next week. The plan has been in the works since 1998, when a study was initially commissioned to check out the viability of the project. The city and Fayette County have spent about $150,000 on the project, mostly through relocation of utilities and installation. The Georgia Department of Transportation provided the equipment. All of the traffic lights in Fayetteville are on state highways 54, 85, 92 and 314. The only lights in the city not included in this project are the two on Ga. Highway 92 at the southern end of town, intersecting with Jimmie Mayfield Boulevard and Ga. Highway 85, and the light at Ga. Highway 54 and Gingercake Road. The distance between those lights and the rest of the city made it impractical to include them, according to city engineer Don Easterbrook. A few traffic lights are coming online in the next few months and have been included in this system. Just south of Banks Road at the site of the new Walgreen's drug store, a road has been placed connecting Hwy. 85 with Ga. Highway 314. There will be a traffic light on each end. Also coming soon is new signalization at Hwy. 54 and LaFayette Avenue, in both directions on West Lanier as well as Stonewall Avenue. This is in conjunction with the Village multiuse development now underway next to Fayette County High School. Another light will be installed on Hwy. 54 just west of that intersection, at the main entrance to the Village. City officials had planned to switch the connections yesterday to get the system up and rolling, but that has been delayed until Monday. There could be some delays that day while the kinks are worked out, although workers will wait until after the morning rush hour to make the switch, Easterbrook said. After that, officials will monitor the system to see if the timing is working, and adjust the timing further if necessary. The project is being completed several months later than was originally planned, mostly due to the logistics of relocating various utilities, such as electric, phone and cable. The system runs through fiber-optic cables along existing power lines, Easterbrook said.
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