Traffic passes through the intersection of Lowell Park Road and Galena Avenue in Dixon on Wednesday. The Dixon City Council approved a new traffic light sensor system that will rely on cameras rather than buried sensors to detect vehicles. (Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@shawmedia.com/credit)
DIXON– The Dixon City Council gave the green light Monday for replacing traffic light systems at two major intersections to improve the flow of traffic.
The upgrade will change how the traffic lights are triggered. The city’s buried loop traffic systems will be switched to camera operations at the intersections of North Galena Avenue and Lowell Park Road and Franklin Grove Road and Chicago Avenue, where routes 38 and 52 meet.
The current systems have underground sensors designed to detect cars stopped at a light, but those sensors have been failing, Public Works Director Matt Heckman said.
Traffic passes through the intersection of Lowell Park Road and Galena Avenue in Dixon on Wednesday. The Dixon City Council approved a plan to replace the buried sensors with cameras that can detect stopped traffic at the intersection and activate the light sequence that way. (Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@shawmedia.com/credit)
“We’ve just had a lot of problems over there, and it’s time to modernize these,” Heckman said.
The new systems will use cameras to identify approaching traffic. Heckman said the cameras will help the flow of traffic, and the cameras are not used to detect a car’s speed. The cameras also are better at detecting smaller, lighter vehicles, such as motorcycles, at the intersection.
The upgrade at routes 38 and 52 will cost $33,665, but the city will receive full reimbursement from the Illinois Department of Transportation because the highways fall under the state’s responsibility in its maintenance contract with the city.
The work at North Galena Avenue, which also is state Route 26, and Lowell Park Road will cost $38,837. IDOT will reimburse 50% of that project.
Rachel Rodgers joined Sauk Valley Media in 2016 covering local government in Dixon and Lee County.
Copyright © 2022 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright © 2022 Shaw Local News Network