8 Alamogordo intersections get upgraded traffic lights
Alamogordo Facility Maintenance Manager Paul Bennett said upgrades to eight traffic intersection signals will improve the flow of traffic and help the City "to get with the 21st century."
Work at seven intersection is completed. The latest, Indian Wells and Florida Avenue, saw work to install new traffic lights begin Dec. 19, and was completed by Dec. 21.
Because of the accelerated completion, the City's Public Works Department added an eighth location to the project.
Work begins at 1st Street and Washington Avenue
Communications and Marketing Specialist Mark Haines said the work would begin Dec. 22 on 1st Street and Washington Avenue between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.
During the time of construction, the intersections may go dark or flash red. Drivers should treat the intersections as a four-way stop during this time.
Motorists should travel with caution and at a reduced speed as construction workers will be in the area along with cones and equipment.
Crawford said it should not interfere with holiday travel within the city.
Intersections receive new posts, cameras
Crawford said new stop lights were installed at all eight locations, work that included cameras which monitor the flow of traffic.
"The cameras are not recording and don't have a recording functionality. But they are there to monitor traffic flow and send the signal to the cabinet that says 'hey, we need to turn' so it will go ahead and do that," Crawford said.
Crawford said the work replaced dated posts at the intersections which did not work properly.
"The most notorious one was College and 10th," she said. "What it is, the previous system has what is called loops in the ground that detects the weight of the vehicle traveling over the road that send a signal to the light."
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Crawford said after the holidays the Public Works Department planned to upgrade more intersections. No list of intersections to receive future upgrades was provided but she said a public service announcement will be released next year with the proposed locations.
Juan Corral can be reached at JCorral@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter at @Juan36Corr.
This article originally appeared on Alamogordo Daily News: New traffic lights installed at eight Alamogordo intersections
