If you complain about how New Orleans's traffic lights are constantly malfunctioning or how they're not synced properly, we have some good news: Mayor Helena Moreno says public works crews are in the process of fixing the city's traffic lights.
Moreno announced Thursday morning that New Orleans public works crews are launching a two-phase project to enhance and modernize the city's traffic light system.
One of Moreno's stated goals is to prevent lights from going out as frequently as they do. The big issue, Moreno said, is to fix the problem of water intrusion in signals' wiring.
"What's happening is that we have a lot of traffic lights at different intersections where the wiring isn't sealed quite right. So every time it rains, guess what happens: the lights trip, and that's when they go to the flash you see," Moreno said. "We believe there are about 40 intersections that have these issues, and we're going to see how significant these issues are at those 40 intersections. After that point, we're going to work to repair these intersections and repair the wiring so the lights don't trip when it rains."
According to Moreno, the initial phase of the traffic light project will also solve another problem New Orleans drivers constantly face.
"We're going to work to ensure that the lights are synchronized," Moreno said. "Another major frustrating issue is that you're driving down the road, and . . . All of a sudden, you get a green light, and then the next one is red, and the one after that is green, and they're all synched incorrectly."
Moreno noted that the second phase of the project will begin next year. That phase, the mayor said, will involve modernizing the traffic light technology in the city, allowing public works officials to manage traffic lights remotely.
