Arlington's Public Works Department Awarded $725,000 Grant to Make Intersection Improvements
The Public Works Department Traffic Engineering Division was recently awarded $725,064 in Highway Safety Improvement Program (HISP) grants by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The Texas Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) is a federally mandated program managed by TxDOT with the objective of reducing traffic fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads.
This is the second time in two years that Public Works has been awarded HSIP funds. In 2022, Public Works was awarded $2.3 Million in HSIP grants, this grant funding will help the department implement safety features around Arlington which have been identified in an action plan.
The grant funding has allowed to City to implement a project to improve over 300 signalized intersections in the City of Arlington by replacing backplates, installing flashing yellow left turn arrows, and updating malfunctioning management units and controller cards in the signal cabinet. The improvements at the designated intersections have been divided into two parts.
The first project, which will be managed by TxDOT, will improve 184 intersections. This grant will be used to update traffic signal head backplates to aluminum vented safety backplates at 71 locations. Some locations, the signal head will be updated to provide a Flashing Yellow Arrow (FYA) left turn for the safety of drivers and signage stating, “Left turn yield on flashing yellow arrow” to improve traffic flow. The controller cards at the remaining 113 intersections will be updated.
Click here to learn more about the Flashing Yellow Arrow (FYA) research through the National Cooperative Highway Research Program.
The second project, which will be managed by the Public Works Department, will improve 134 intersections. The remaining funds from this grant will be used to update the traffic signal head backplates to aluminum vented safety backplates. The selected locations will also have updated signal head to provide a flashing yellow arrow left turn for the safety of drivers and signage stating, “Left turn yield on flashing yellow arrow.”
Example of Traffic Signal with a control contrast background.
Once these projects are completed, it will improve traffic safety for drivers as aluminum vented backplates improve the visibility of signal faces by introducing a control contrast background for drivers approaching traffic signals. In accordance with a study conducted by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program has determined that drivers had fewer crashes with flashing yellow left-turn arrows than with traditional yield-on-green signal configurations.
To learn more about the Public Works Department’s programs and services, visit the department’s website.
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