New traffic signal to go live today at Walmart entrance
These new traffic signals at the intersection of Hillvale Road and Tanner Lane, at the entrance to and exit from the Walmart area, were scheduled to begin full operation today (Nov. 22) after being on but just blinking for a week. (photo:G Chambers Williams III )
But a second set of new traffic lights – at North Charles G. Seivers and Doe Run boulevards – is still waiting for completion of electronic elements and is not yet ready to be turned on, city officials said last week.
Clinton Chief of Police Vaughn Becker said the new lights on Hillvale began flashing last Wednesday to get motorists used to the idea of them being there, and they were scheduled to begin operation this morning (Nov. 22).
“We were required to operate them on flashing for at least a week before turning them on, so now they’ll be ready to go,” the chief said.
Since Walmart opened, that intersection of Hillvale Road and Tanner Road has been somewhat of a traffic nightmare for motorists during busy shopping times, as the traffic on Hillvale had no impediment – either a stop sign or traffic light.
That meant traffic exiting the Walmart area from Tanner Lane onto Hillvale – the only way out except for going through some business parking lots – had to stop and wait for a break in Hillvale traffic before proceeding. There is another entrance to Walmart just a few yards away, but traffic is not allowed to exit there.
Adding the traffic signal is expected to allow traffic to exit from Tanner Lane more easily. But the traffic signal does not address the problem of having only one exit from the city’s busiest shopping area. How to create another exit is still under study.
As for the new traffic lights at Seivers and Doe Run, they are still waiting for a radio controller to be installed so they can be synced with other signals along Seivers Boulevard on the approach to and through its intersection with Hillvale Road and Interstate 75, Exit 122, Clinton City Manager Roger Houck said Friday.
“That light by Buddy’s (Bar-B-Q) has to sync with the other traffic signals,” Houck said. “We don’t have the radio yet to go into the cabinet to sync. I’m not sure when that will happen, but we’re hoping within the next three to four weeks. We’re supposed to have a meeting next week.”
That light just became even more important with the opening last week of the new Tidal Wave Auto Spa car wash on the northwest side of the Seivers and Doe Run intersection.
Both sets of new traffic lights have appeared to be ready to go for weeks now, but both were delayed by the installation of the electronics needed to operate them, Becker said earlier.
“There is still a back order on the stainless-steel boxes the [electronic] equipment goes into,” the chief said in August. “We’ve been working on these lights for over a year.”
The boxes were installed within the past couple of weeks, and on Friday, workers were seen apparently working on the control box of the Doe Run light next to the car wash entrance.
In 2020, Clinton spent $150,000 from a state Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement grant to replace and coordinate the traffic signals along Seivers Boulevard from Interstate 75 to improve traffic flow.
“Progressive” traffic signal coordination was implemented, which was supposed to allow traffic getting a green light to be able to drive all the way through the I-75, Exit 122 area toward Clinton all with green lights, while driving the then-45 mph speed limit. The lights are sequenced using radio signals.
In reality, it’s hard to get the sequencing to work, because the majority of drivers do not drive fast enough to take advantage of the timing of the lights. Most drivers are completely unaware of the progressive-signal timing concept.
“We’re trying to get the flow where when you get off the interstate and head toward Oak Ridge, you will be able to move through the traffic lights without much delay,” Houck said at the time the new lights were being installed in early 2020.
Clinton also recently lowered the speed limit on Seivers Boulevard to 40 mph from just east of the Exit 122 interchange to just past Arby’s.