Traffic lights will be installed at the intersection of Highway 18 and 108th Avenue in Westlock after Alberta Transportation gave the go ahead to the project.
Traffic lights will be installed at the intersection of Highway 18 and 108th Avenue in Westlock after Alberta Transportation gave the go ahead to the project.
The new lights, which come with a $300,000 price tag, come after years of campaigning by the town council and residents and should make using both roads safer and left hand turns in all directions easier.
Councillors were advised of the approval at their Feb. 23 meeting in a letter sent by the minister two weeks before. The project will be will be entirely funded by the province.
Two-term councillor Sheila Foley said that years of lobbying and hard work has paid off.
'At every AUMA (Alberta Urban Municipalities Association) conference we've always met with the transportation department requesting it be looked at pretty seriously due to the safety risk and the hazards to people crossing there," she said.
'We were quite happy they finally agreed with us."
Regional director for Alberta Transportation Michael Botros was also positive about the project.
'We've done quite a few signal warrant analyses, the most recent one was done in May of 2014 and it indicated that signals would be triggered in the next two to three years," he said.
'It's demonstrating that there is growth in and around Westlock and there are pressures being observed now at that intersection."
Work on the site is currently in the preliminary planning stages and should be completed by this fall.
Alberta Transportation first needs to undertake design work, then put the job out to tender and engage a contractor.
There will be no major changes or capital upgrades to either highway or 108th but lane markings will be realigned in the area.
'We can put the lights in and change the pavement markings to accommodate what needs to be done," Botros said.
The signals will be automated and triggered by either underground sensors or detectors mounted on the overhead gantries.
'We don't want to negatively impact the traffic flow on 18, but we do want to make sure the people on 108 do get the ability to trigger the lights so they can make the turn," said Botros.
In addition to councillors, residents have welcomed the announcement. The intersection has become a black spot with collisions occurring frequently and long waits to turn out of 108th and onto the highway.
Erin Jorde lives in Clyde and uses the turn at 108th to get to work and drop her kids at the Westlock Community Daycare.
She said she has witnessed a number of crashes at the intersection and thinks the new lights will make things safer for drivers and motorists.
'I can sit there 10 minutes," said Jorde. 'With the traffic coming across from the grocery store, to try and sneak out between vehicles is a nightmare.
'We did a field trip to the John Deere and we had to get a police officer to come and stop the traffic so we could walk across with the kids."
