ThisWeek CW 12/01/2011
After several months on back order, new traffic lights are in operation on Gender Road, wrapping up the first phase of the Gender Road project.
“The mast arms (for the traffic signals) on Gender Road took longer than expected,” Bill Sims, the city’s construction services manager, told city council’s service committee last week.
“We fully expected the traffic signals to take the length of the contract, because getting traffic light approvals submitted to all of the appropriate agencies and such usually makes them a six-month process, but then the manufacturer had a back order,” he said
According to public service director Matt Peoples, the city was planning to remove the old traffic signal equipment as soon as the new signals were fully operational. However, the mast arm for the intersection at Gender Road and Winchester Boulevard was manufactured incorrectly and will be replaced once a new one can be manufactured.
“The pole near O’Charley’s had a manufacturing error, so it isn’t quite at the proper angle,” Sims said. “We’re working to get that fixed, but for now, we can make it operational since we need it operational. We’ve been monitoring the signals to understand if the traffic is flowing properly.”
The city estimates that 18,000 cars pass through the Gender Road intersections each day.
“The cars are getting around well, so the signal at the Walmart intersection appears to be functioning very well,” Sims said.
In other news from the service committee’s Nov. 21 meeting, Heiberger Paving, which won the contract to build tennis courts at the high school, is working with the city to develop a plan to install three courts as opposed to the two originally planned.
“We’ve had a lot of discussions about how to use what resources we have to get three courts on that site,” Sims said. “(Heiberger) is going to put together some plans for us on how to do that and so it looks like we’re going to get our three courts.”
Peoples said the price for the three courts will not exceed the amount currently set aside for the two courts.
“We don’t anticipate the courts being open until spring due to the amount of paving work that needs done, but the third court was really good news,” he said.
The next services committee meeting is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. Monday, Dec. 19, at Town Hall, 10 N. High St.