Roadscapes Wednesday: Why You Should Avoid Quintard Avenue For The Next Six Months

By Nathan Young on November 12, 2014

If you have driven up and down Quintard Avenue, you have noticed that workers are re-doing parts of the sidewalk. What they are doing is they are adding handicap ramps at every intersection, so the sidewalks can be ADA compliant.

Well, there is a problem. When the workers are ripping up the sidewalks, they are also taking out the sensors milled into the road that control the traffic lights. In simple terms, it means traffic on Quintard will get a red light, even when no one is waiting on the side street, because the signal loops have been cut, and that means you are seeing massive, I mean massive traffic jams that stretches for blocks!

All of this is because those traffic signal loops have been cut, and that means the side roads get a longer green light time. And traffic on Quintard Ave. is getting a much shorter green light time. It also means traffic is blocking the intersections, because the traffic signals are now screwed up, even the intersection in front of the fire department is blocked.

So, what does all of this mean. It means that you, the driver, should avoid Quintard Avenue at all costs until next spring. Every traffic light intersection has had their signal loops cut. And if you are wondering what a signal loop is, it’s basically a small black wire milled into the road, like in this picture below.

I highly doubt ALDOT is going to re-mill the signal loops into the road that has been cut because the road is about to repaved. All of this means that you the driver are going to enjoy big traffic jams.

Cars trying to squeeze their way around the cars.

And sitting at a light for no reason until Spring, when the road is repaved, and new loops are milled into the road.

All of the signal loops being cut will make the overnight drive on Quintard a living nightmare. Yep, you will get to sit at every traffic light on Quintard because the loops have been cut. Overnight, the synchronization to the traffic lights is off, and I hope you have something to keep you occupied.