Three pg 1 9-8-11
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- Category: Past Issues
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
Three intersections, with a few accidents under their "belts," will see traffic lights installed, hopefully by November, according to state officials.
Keith Schoppe, project engineer with the state Department of Transportation's District II office in Norwich, said new signals will be going in at the intersection of the northbound exit #97 ramp of I-395 and Route 44 in Putnam, the intersection of routes 131 and 197 in Thompson and the intersection of Route 171 (Woodstock Avenue) and West Thompson Road near the Putnam/Thompson/Woodstock border.
Putnam Director of Public Works Jerry Beausoleil said the state traffic commission has "warrants" that keep a count of traffic and accidents and more at intersections and stretches of state highways in Connecticut. When the numbers get high enough on the warrants, the state will step in and install a traffic light.
Three concrete bases have already been poured for the standpoles which hold the traffic light above the road. Schoppe said additional foundations for the controller box and for the pedestrian walk are to be installed; however, they are precast and are just dropped into place. Underground conduit is also installed. He said the state contractor will put the poles up, hang the lights, wire it up, energize it and test it.
Generally, he said, the state places a "New Signal Ahead" sign up the road for 14 days and puts the new traffic lights on yellow flash for seven days.
By mid-October the standpoles, and the controllers should be delivered. He added the traffic lights themselves "should be no problem."
Schoppe said the state is trying to get the signals installed before winter although the contract gives the contractor until April 1.
Once all the pieces are in, Schoppe said the installation takes "literally two days."
"They go in quick," he added.