A crew from Michiana Contracting in Plymouth will be spending the better share of the next six months replacing signal heads on stoplights at every intersection on U.S. 30 from King Road in Plymouth to the Illinois state line.
The company secured the INDOT contract to install approximately 900 “blackheads” at 86 intersections. They began the project at the U.S. 30 and King Road intersection on Thursday. The deadline for completion of the entire project has been set at June 17 of this year.
According to Dave Delp of Michiana Contracting, each installation site requires a half day to complete. Delp said, “We are using stop signs at intersections while installations are being done.” “If traffic begins to back up, the supervisor on site will watch for traffic and use a flag to help move traffic through each open lane on both sides of the highway.” he added.
He said they will be working every weekday as long as there are not adverse weather related conditions.
Legislation now requires that states make the changes to their current stoplight configurations. Delp said the company did install some of the new equipment last year in the Elkhart area. According to Delp, the new requirements will mean the installation of 2,000 to 3,000 signal heads in the Fort Wayne area beginning in July of this year.
Carol Anders Correspondent
