Traffic signals at busy Washtenaw Avenue intersections to get sync upgrade

The Washtenaw County Road Commission will be taking a more active role in managing traffic congestion on Washtenaw Avenue from Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti in the near future.

Traffic signals at four intersections on Washtenaw Avenue will be upgraded and receive surveillance cameras, as well as two intersections on Huron River Drive and one at Hewitt and Packard roads.

All of the traffic signals on Washtenaw Avenue from Carpenter Road to Oakwood Avenue also will be wirelessly connected, as will signals on Huron River Drive, Golfside Road and Clark Avenue.

The Road Commission approved the measure in a 2-0 vote at its regular meeting Tuesday. Road Commissioner Ken Schwartz was absent.

The ultimate goal of the effort is to increase traffic flow through the Washtenaw Avenue corridor so that cars sit less, said Sheryl Siddall, director of engineering for the Road Commission.

Siddall said the Road Commission likes to look at the entire corridor to determine where the majority of people are driving at certain times of the day to time the signals accordingly.

The surveillance cameras don’t record video and are used to monitor traffic conditions during peak times or when people call in an issue, Siddall said.

Previously, Road Commission crews would have to make changes to the timing of traffic signals by being on-site.

The equipment upgrade will now allow engineers to remotely manage the timing of the signals and observe traffic patterns from their office on Zeeb Road.

It will also help the Road Commission to be more responsive to unexpected events by allowing them to change the timing of the traffic signals during accidents, major incidents or construction, Siddall said.

The signal upgrade costs a total of $490,000 and will begin this summer. Funding for the project comes from federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement funds.

The upgrades will expand the existing network of nine video surveillance cameras operated by the Washtenaw County Road Commission, which were first installed in 2011 at a startup cost of $1.2 million. The $1.2 million also came from the same stream of federal funding.

Amy Biolchini covers Washtenaw County, health and environmental issues for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.