St Thomas gets first traffic lights

The first set of traffic lights to be erected in St Thomas were commissioned into service yesterday at the junction to enter and leave the community of Grants Pen.

In a release, the National Works Agency (NWA) said that the traffic signals have been erected as part of the multibillion-dollar Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Programme. Seventeen kilometres of road between Harbour View, St Andrew and Albion, St Thomas has been converted from a two-lane corridor to a four-lane highway.

Manager, Communication and Customer Services at the NWA, Stephen Shaw, said that with the four lanes now in use, it became imperative for the traffic signals to be put into service. He said that the system has been equipped to facilitate pedestrians, as well as the motoring public.

Features at the intersection include a push button system for pedestrians to use to safely cross the road and sensors that will detect vehicles, where operators wish to make right turning movements. Shaw said that the junction will shortly be equipped with cameras that will allow for monitoring of the corridor from the NWA's corporate office in Kingston.