Update and Information on Temporary Traffic Signals
Monday, March 15, 2010 at 2:17:51 PM
On March 8, 2010, the contractor began saw cutting operations in the closed lane to facilitate the removal of the concrete deck.  The contractor is cutting the concrete deck into 5’ wide sections and removing these sections with a track hoe. This operation is running very smooth and the contractor expects to complete the removal of the decks within 2 weeks.  During this time, the contractor will also be installing the new metal stringers which will help support the new concrete roadway once it is poured.

As of right now, the contractor does not anticipate a complete closure of the bridge until Tuesday, April 6, 2010.  On this day, the contractor expects a large shipment of structural metalwork that will require the bridge to be closed to allow the offloading of the materials.  As a reminder, should the contractor use the night closure on this day, the bridge will only be closed from 11:30 p.m. – 4:30 a.m. at the latest.

Recently, DOTD has received many calls notifying us that the temporary traffic signals for the Grand Ecore Bridge Project have been malfunctioning. However, the signals are functioning properly and we would like to address this issue by explaining how these temporary traffic signals function on each side of the Grand Ecore Bridge.

The signals are timed to allow a maximum green cycle of 3 minutes and 20 seconds for each side with a 1 minute and 26 second clear time when both signals are red. This clear time allows traffic to clear the bridge before giving the opposite side a green light.

Additionally, the signals are equipped with a Doppler sensor which will interrupt the allowed green time on one side if it detects that there is no more traffic on that side.  The sensor determines there is no more traffic when at least 6 seconds elapse after it last detects a car passing through its detection zone.  This feature allows the signal to stop the preset green cycle time when no cars are present on one side so that the opposite side can receive a green light without having to wait for the other side’s entire green cycle.

However, this feature may cause the perception of a malfunction in the traffic lights.  At times, drivers may see the temporary lights go from green, to yellow, to red, and within 6 seconds go back to green when the sensor has detected no traffic on the opposing side.  This is a normal function of the lights to give priority to the side with moving traffic.

DOTD would like to ask drivers to drive all the way up to the white stop bar that is painted on the roadway directly before the signal.  This is important because if a vehicle stops too far behind the white stop bar, then the Doppler sensor does not pick up the vehicle and the system believes that there is no traffic on that side.  This will cause the light on that side to remain red indefinitely until it senses movement.

As always, please strictly obey the traffic signals and pay close attention to the roadway and traffic when crossing the bridge.

For more information on this project or to receive periodic e-mail updates on this project, e-mail Customer Service or call 1-877-4LA-DOTD (452-3683). The Customer Service Center's regular hours are 7:30 a.m. through 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.